By Ben McEachenThursday 16 Oct 2014MoviesReading Time: 2 minutes
Having starred together in forgiveness drama The Railway Man, Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth reunite in a domestic disturbance of a different variety. Kidman is Christine, a woman suffering from a form of amnesia so rare, you’d expect a movie to be made about it.
Christine awakens each morning, having forgotten almost everything she knows. Weirdly, her husband Ben (Firth) seems comfortable with his daily duty of reciting information. But as suggested by Kidman’s frightened whispers, and the atmosphere of telemovie tension, there is more mystery here than the nightly dose of memory loss. Especially as Christine can’t remember who to trust, or whether she is in danger.
Like 50 First Dates was mashed up with Memento, to conceive an average thriller of preposterous proportions, Before I Go To Sleep isn’t memorable. Some twists and turns in Christine’s tale are notable, yet steadily are crushed by how all involved seem to be part of a B-grade movie. From the overblown music to creepy interior design, Firth’s enigmatic answers to annoying plot-holes, the combined effect encourages little concern for Christine’s fate. Grief, infidelity and shocking abuse do punctuate with intermittent force, but the overall impact is like a tepid nightmare which fades quickly.
Before I Go To Sleep might well send you to sleep, but its central idea does highlight something profound. Who are we, without our memory? Christine becomes isolated from the world, her family and herself, because she can’t remember what it is to be Christine. Our reliance upon memory is a critical component of our identity, let alone our meaning and purpose in life.
What memories do you need, to still be you? What events, people, or experiences are so critical to who you are, you’d be lost without them? As you mull that over, think about whether your response is the same as an early Christian leader. About 2000 years before Christine’s amnesia, one of the first Christians declared:
‘I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’
(1 Corinthians 2:2)
The writer of this statement, Paul, believed the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion to be of such value, he didn’t need to know anything else. Anything. Writing to a church, Paul’s simple reminder should stir anyone who believes in, and follows, the same Jesus. Rather than reflect on any other thing that had affected his entire life, Paul narrowed down his memorable moments to one. Knowing Jesus Christ was crucified and, by extension, what that means for all of Paul’s life.
Christine’s mission in Before I Go To Sleep is to remember who she is and what’s going on. What do we need to resolve to know, so that we are able to define who we are, and what life is all about?
Rating: MA15+
Distributor: StudioCanal
Release Date: October 16