A woman wakes up every day, remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past. One day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.A woman wakes up every day, remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past. One day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.A woman wakes up every day, remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past. One day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.
- Boy in Dream
- (as Flynn Macarthur)
- Mother in Park
- (uncredited)
- Doctor
- (uncredited)
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
- Paramedic
- (uncredited)
- Hospital Patient
- (uncredited)
- Psychiatric Nurse
- (uncredited)
- Man on Bike
- (uncredited)
- Nurse Who Have Austrian Accent
- (uncredited)
- Nurse Kate
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the novel, Christine's diary is in the form of a journal / notebook, whereas in the film it is a camera for obvious visceral reasons.
- Goofs(at around 47 mins) During a conversation with Ben at his school, Christine drops her bag to the floor and approaches Ben to give him a hug. Camera cuts to wide angle of the whole classroom with the hugging couple yet there is no bag on the floor.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Christine: Who are you?
Ben: I'm your husband... Ben.
Christine: What?
Ben: We got married in 1999. That was 14 years ago. Christine, you're 40.
[hands her her clothes]
Ben: You had an accident. It was a bad accident. You had head injuries. And you have problems remembering things.
Christine: What things? What...?
Ben: Everything. You store up information for a day, and when you wake up in the morning, it's all gone. You're back to your early 20s. You'll be okay. Just... trust me.
Christine: I'm scared.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Projector: Before I Go to Sleep (2014)
- SoundtracksYou Keep Me Hangin' On
Performed by The Supremes
Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier (uncredited) and Eddie Holland (as Holland, James Jnr)
Published by Jobete Music/EMI Music Publishing Ltd
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under license from Universal Music Operations Limited
Christine (Nicole Kidman) wakes up every morning with no memory of the last fifteen years of her life. Ben (Colin Firth), the stranger who shares her life and bed, informs her that he is her husband and that she lost her ability to make new memories after a bad car accident several years ago. Any attempt to forge lasting memories seems futile - and yet, Christine tries. She receives a phone call from Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), a neurologist who assures her that they've been working to improve her condition. He reminds her that she's been keeping a video diary every day: one that, upon review, suggests that Ben is not telling her the whole truth about their shared life and history.
It's to writer-director Rowan Joffe's credit that he mostly manages to make a very personal - and inevitably repetitive - journey of discovery both cinematic and chilling. As Christine awakes each day with her memory reset, Joffe finds inventive and intriguing ways to ramp up the spinetingling alienation she feels from her own life and husband. He captures Christine's terror, doubt and paranoia in the shuddery footage she takes of herself while hidden away in the bathroom from a husband she doesn't recognise. As the wheels within the narrative spin and turn, Joffe's camera makes villains and heroes out of everybody: Ben, in particular, shifts from one to the other on an almost daily basis, as Christine doubts and then trusts the love this man must have for her to stay by her side for so many years.
Unfortunately, Joffe can't quite sustain the tension throughout - the film sags noticeably in parts, as Christine flounders miserably between very few choices. There are many twists, as she uncovers people and secrets in her past that will inevitably disappear from her grasp within a day, including a final doozy of a revelation. But Joffe winds up wasting much of this tension and intrigue with an oddly definitive ending. In a film filled with questions, doubts and uncertainties, it feels completely out of place and emotionally untrue.
Joffe's cast, at least, is unreservedly excellent. Kidman delivers her most fascinating performance in ages, one that's equal parts vulnerable and strong. Her Christine is very much a victim of her circumstances - and possibly her husband - but Kidman skilfully imbues her with a steely determination to reclaim her life and identity against very poor odds. Firth, too, is fantastic, shading both light and darkness into his trademark charm - enough to make us believe that he's the kind of man who could love and/or betray Christine with all of his heart.
It's a shame, then, that the final frames of the film don't live up to its promise or potential. Joffe has hit upon something truly unnerving with his premise: Christine's condition provides the ideal backdrop for either the perfect crime, or a love story for the ages. Before I Go To Sleep quite effectively teeters between the two extremes, as does Christine, but ultimately fails to follow through when the true depths of its darkness are revealed.
- shawneofthedead
- Nov 4, 2014
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Tôi Ác Ngu Say
- Filming locations
- Pavilion Tea House, Greenwich Park, Charlton Way, London, England, UK(Christine meets Dr. Nasch)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $22,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,242,457
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,843,347
- Nov 2, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $17,669,776
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1