"Before I Go To Sleep" is an interesting psychological thriller with an incredibly unbelievable story line. But, even if it may not work in some other movie, with other setting and actors, "Before I Go To Sleep" is a movie that can cope with this kind of events.
*Spoilers* A woman (Christine, played by Nicole Kidman) wakes up next to a man (Ben, played by Colin Firth) she cannot recognize. When they start talking, he tells her that he is her husband. We find out that she had an "accident" and that she has a memory loss. Every time she wakes up in the morning, she forgets everything about the previous day. This sounds pretty crazy, but Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth keep us interested. We care about the story because of them and accept the premise of the story line. The pace of the events is fast, there are characters emerging from the past that keep us focused and we want to find out more. Being a thriller, this movie has accomplished its main goal and that is, keep the viewers agitated. However, the movie is far from being flawless. As some people have already mentioned in their reviews, some details seem very unconvincing. The married couple, Ben and Christine, have no friends, he is at work almost all the time and when he's not, he seems wicked and cunning, for no obvious reason at that time. She is in a state of confusion and partly depression but they still function "normally"- they have cooked meals, their house is cleaned and organised, although they have no maids. The house is cold, modern and we're aware it costs a lot, but it is deprived of the personal touch. There are just some photos of Ben's and Christine's wedding day - there are dozens of them all over the place and they seem suspicious from the very beginning. From the very start of the film, the husband seems suspicious, so the "unexpected" twist at the end, when we find out that the perpetrator is actually her husband Ben, is not that unexpected. We actually see what we presumed we would see after the first 5-10 minutes of watching. The only thing that may be a bit surprising is that Ben is not her husband at all. He was just a lover who beat Christine and caused all that mess.
My opinion: a film worth watching, but once is enough. And I'm not sure if the viewers will remember it in a months' time.
*Spoilers* A woman (Christine, played by Nicole Kidman) wakes up next to a man (Ben, played by Colin Firth) she cannot recognize. When they start talking, he tells her that he is her husband. We find out that she had an "accident" and that she has a memory loss. Every time she wakes up in the morning, she forgets everything about the previous day. This sounds pretty crazy, but Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth keep us interested. We care about the story because of them and accept the premise of the story line. The pace of the events is fast, there are characters emerging from the past that keep us focused and we want to find out more. Being a thriller, this movie has accomplished its main goal and that is, keep the viewers agitated. However, the movie is far from being flawless. As some people have already mentioned in their reviews, some details seem very unconvincing. The married couple, Ben and Christine, have no friends, he is at work almost all the time and when he's not, he seems wicked and cunning, for no obvious reason at that time. She is in a state of confusion and partly depression but they still function "normally"- they have cooked meals, their house is cleaned and organised, although they have no maids. The house is cold, modern and we're aware it costs a lot, but it is deprived of the personal touch. There are just some photos of Ben's and Christine's wedding day - there are dozens of them all over the place and they seem suspicious from the very beginning. From the very start of the film, the husband seems suspicious, so the "unexpected" twist at the end, when we find out that the perpetrator is actually her husband Ben, is not that unexpected. We actually see what we presumed we would see after the first 5-10 minutes of watching. The only thing that may be a bit surprising is that Ben is not her husband at all. He was just a lover who beat Christine and caused all that mess.
My opinion: a film worth watching, but once is enough. And I'm not sure if the viewers will remember it in a months' time.