Star Rating:

Before I Go to Sleep

Director: Rowan Joffe

Actors: Colin Firth, Mark Strong

Release Date: Saturday 30th November 2013

Genre(s): Thriller

Running time: 92 minutes

Twist endings are inherently a problem unto themselves, with audiences constantly second-guessing the movie they are watching, keeping an eye on the rug to make sure it doesn’t get yanked out from under them when they’re not paying attention. Some movies pull of the trick of not letting on that there’s even going to be a twist ending, but Before I Go To Sleep is not one of those movies. Right from the get go, you’re waiting for that twist.

After a traumatic and violent attack, Christine (Nicole Kidman) wakes up every single day with no recollection of the past fifteen years of her life. Each morning she must get be re-introduced to her husband Ben (Colin Firth), and lately with the help of psychologist Dr. Nash (Mark Strong), she has been keeping a video diary for help her get up to date on her life much more quickly. But given the nature of her attack, the secrets she thinks her husband is keeping from her, and the clandestine nature of meetings with Dr. Nash, can she really trust anyone? Plus, she is prone to confusing dreams and false memories with reality, so can she even trust herself?

This is pretty much Alfred Hitchcock’s Memento, but not Vertigo Hitchcock, more Dial M For Murder Hitchcock. As mentioned, that twist is hanging over the whole movie like a cloud, with Firth and Strong either cast perfectly to type as the loving husband and conniving villain, or perfectly against type as the abusive spouse and knight in shining armour. There’s really only so many ways the plot can play out, so it’s not so much a case as guessing who the bad guy is, as simply answering a multiple choice question with a very limited number of options to choose from.

Admittedly the story does take some turns that you might not see coming, and Kidman does very decent work as the daily distraught damsel. Writer/director Joffe also brings a chilly, sterile atmosphere to proceedings, even if he never really loosens up and has as much fun with the story as you feel he should have.

Before I Go To Sleep makes for a decent one-off watch, but once you see how all the pieces fit together, there’ll be no desire to watch it again.