Written by: Rowan Joffé
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Anne-Marie Duff
Rating: [2/5]
Retaining core memories carries such an importance yet one we often do not think about because the majority of us take it for granted. Remembering what has happened before allows us to learn and do better in the future. It makes what transpires Before I Go to Sleep a fascinating premise to follow, and yet the execution of it feels so incredibly bland.
Awakening unaware of her surroundings, Christine (Nicole Kidman) meets a man who says he’s her husband, Ben (Colin Firth). As Ben explains her condition and how she has a condition where she loses her short-term memory. Christine then learns she’s been working with a doctor named Mike Nasch (Mark Strong), who’s helping her but also instills doubt on her current situation.
Ostensibly existing as a darker version of 50 First Dates, the film we have here digs into a terrifying reality for our lead character. Waking up completely unaware of what has happened before creates not only a disturbing daily routine, but also puts our protagonist in such a vulnerable place. Anything can happen to her and the next day, it would all go away and be left in a place for the person she first sees to explain it all. Undoubtedly a strong premise, yet one this feature does not help cross the line in a wholly satisfying manner, unfortunately.
The central mystery of this film appears in who Christine can fully trust whether it’s her husband or Dr. Nasch. Things certainly pick up when she listens to voice recordings of herself as clues of what has happened in the past that begins to erode her trust in those around her and begins to put the pieces together. When the film leans into this for Christine, it’s operating at its best. Unfortunately, the film quickly loses steam and just sputters its way towards its conclusion in quite the unsatisfactory manner.
Where the cracks begin to form, it reveals the film’s fatal flaw: it has such a distinct lack of suspense or thrill to it. While the subject matter certainly has plenty that would cause some thrills to transpire but it never really manifests itself through the narrative. Not even in the slightest. It also did not help that the story felt far too obvious in what reveals would eventually transpire. That further disintegrates whatever the film wants the audience to feel as we go through this situation with Christine. None of it seems to work properly, which feels like quite the shame given the stars we have involved in this story and the talent they brought to it.
Having Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong as the trio at the center of this film brought plenty of promise and for the most part they do decently well. This especially goes for Colin Firth, who utilizes the reputation he has built as an actor and the types of roles he takes on to the advantage of the film. Nicole Kidman refuses to put in bad performances and she certainly did a decent job in handling the complicated emotional elements of Christine’s journey where everything hangs in this delicate balance. Kidman would never fail to deliver but unfortunately the story these actors get lets them down in as the mystery of it all leaves the performances stilted as a result.
Never fulfilling its promise even with a strong idea at its center, Before I Go to Sleep at times made me feel like I was slipping into a deep slumber with the lack of real juice to this story. We have this strong foundation of what could set up something twisty and unnerving but it all somehow comes together in a way that just left this major disappointment in its wake. The only thing that drew my attention to this film originally was my wife wanting to watch it after reading the book and I sure hope the novel was better given that the final product of the feature adaptation left much to be desired.
Films with Josh 
