Wow, what a film! Before I Go To Sleep is a tense and very emotional thriller, perfected by a handful of very strong performances. It is also one of those great things which, at 92 minutes, is to the point throughout, starts where it should, and ends where it should. Too many movies with potential have ruined themselves with unnecessary padding. I was actually surprised at the pace that this film moved at - fast and ominous. Christine (Nicole Kidman) wakes up in bed with a man, and creeps into the bathroom, startled. On the wall she sees a massive collage of photos of her and the man in bed, with post-it notes saying 'This is your husband.' In the bedroom, the man Ben (Colin Firth) tells her he is her husband, they've been married for 14 years, and she was struck with amnesia after a car accident. Every night as she sleeps, the day's memories are erased, and she wakes up as a terrified 25 year old again.
Now of course, the topic of amnesia has been played in several different ways in cinema, the first one that springs to mind is 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, which was quite funny, and definitely tried hard to be, as all Sandler pictures do, but to varying success. I was instantly engaged by Before I Go To Sleep, because it focuses entirely on the traumatic effects of such an affliction, and the emotional pain it causes its sufferer and their loved ones. With Kidman as the definite main character, it would have been easy for the narrative to focus entirely on her, but it gives equal share to Firth, who steals a scene in which he finally admits his own heartbreak.
On the first day, Ben routinely explains everything to Christine, as he has thousands of times before, shows her the whiteboard which reminds her of her allergies and requirements, and goes off to work, leaving her alone in their beautiful and decidedly massive house to do absolutely nothing. She receives a phone call from a Dr Nash, who tells her to look in the box in her wardrobe, where she finds a camera. He says he's been seeing her, in secret from Ben, for a while, and gave her the camera as a video log, which he calls to remind her about each day.
However, in her meetings with Nash, it comes to light that Christine wasn't in an accident, she was attacked and found naked, bludgeoned and left for dead in an industrial estate. And with her newly found memory in the form of digital imagery, comes the unwitting trauma of finding out what actually happened to her over the past 14 years. One day she notices stretch marks on her belly, and comes to the realisation that she has a child. Ben is dismayed at her discovery, and the necessity to now tell her about the baby. This scene is outstanding in its highly emotional tension. Christine realises, as she logs her discoveries in tears, that her newfound grief will 'be new the next day, and the next day, every day for the rest of my life.'
But Christine still has to find out what actually happened to her, and who did it. Her gradual unravelling of her own life makes amnesiac ignorance seem the lesser of two evils compared to the truth. Her own lack of knowledge about her life has allowed others to basically create it for her, to their own liking. Things take one dark turn after another, and the entire film is gripping and emotionally engaging. Both Kidman and Firth are absolutely top-notch, with both stirring the sympathies of the audience despite their paralleled positions. They work well together, and this is their second collaboration in a year, after The Railway Man, in which Firth was the traumatised party, and Kidman the caring spouse. This is a fantastic reunion not to be missed.
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