Review: Nicole Kidman the best part of ‘Before I Go to Sleep’
Although “Before I Go to Sleep” is a handsomely made, often intriguingly twisty thriller, it feels like awfully familiar business.
That’s not just because the film’s amnesia conceit has been used before in such varied pictures as “Memento,” “Clean Slate,” “50 First Dates” and “The Bourne Identity.” It’s really more that “Sleep” recalls so many past women-in-jeopardy pictures that if it weren’t for its fine star turn by Nicole Kidman, this memory-loss tale might be entirely, well, forgettable.
Director Rowan Joffe (“Brighton Rock”), who adapted the script from the bestselling novel by S.J. Watson, takes such a somber, measured approach, viewers may feel more lulled than stirred.
Kidman plays Christine, a 40-year-old woman left with psychogenic amnesia after a traumatic accident 13 years ago. As she wakes up every morning with her mind a blank slate, her devoted husband, Ben (Colin Firth), must constantly replay the details of their lives so Christine can get through the day.
That is, until Christine starts therapy with a mysterious neuropsychologist, Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong). His perhaps questionable techniques help Christine evoke memory shards about a violent attack, a vanished child, a onetime best friend (Anne-Marie Duff) and more that lead her to believe that Ben may not be the most trustworthy mate — to say the least.
Some eerie answers are revealed, and there are a few decent left-field jolts en route. But the plot is hardly airtight — at times the holes are downright gaping — and viewers will likely have their fair share of questions once the film’s final corner is turned.
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“Before I Go to Sleep”
MPAA rating: R for brutal violence, language.
Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes.
Playing: In general release.
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