Before I Go to Sleep

Name: Before I Go to Sleep
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Released: October 31, 2014
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 41
Cast: Anne-Marie Duff, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Nicole Kidman

2014

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Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 95 Ratings

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5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 95 Ratings

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Before I Go To Sleep

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Movie Details & Credits

Clarius Entertainment | Release Date: October 31, 2014 | R

Starring: Anne-Marie Duff, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Nicole Kidman

Summary: A woman (Nicole Kidman) wakes up every day with no memory as the result of a traumatic accident in her past. One day, terrifying new truths begin to emerge that make her question everything she thinks she knows about her life - as well as everyone in it, including her doctor (Mark Strong) and even her husband (Colin Firth).

Director: Rowan Joffe

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 92 min

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Critic Reviews

Mick LaSalle

Nov 1, 2014

Before I Go to Sleep emerges as a mystery — one with a slow burn leading to a big payoff. But what keeps the movie going, beyond questions of what is true and what is false, are the issues raised by the illness itself. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

Oct 30, 2014

If the story is a smidge predictable, at least the movie is pleasingly old-fashioned and grown-up, with a ’90s paranoid-thriller vibe. Read full review

James Rocchi

Oct 29, 2014

Before I Go To Sleep‘s combination of talents on both sides of the camera means that while it may not rocket you to the edge of your seat as quickly and cruelly as the recent “Gone Girl,” it's hardly a snooze. Read full review

Leslie Felperin

Sep 1, 2014

Writer-director Rowan Joffe’s adaptation of S.J. Watson’s bestseller honors the lurid spirit of the page-turner enough to satisfy fans, but he doesn’t transmute the material into something richer and deeper the way. Read full review

Joe Neumaier

Oct 30, 2014

This dull thriller wastes the potential of Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth. Read full review

The Telegraph Tim Robey

Sep 10, 2014

It’s just chilly and uninvolving. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Oct 30, 2014

Rowan Joffe directed from his own adaptation of a novel by S.J. Watson. If you’re thinking of seeing this turgid turkey, forget it. Read full review

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User Reviews

jigsmode31

Oct 22, 2015

This was a suspenseful movie and the cast were mesmerizing in their roles.

Watch it online for free: https://www.primewire.ag/watch-2754057-Before-I-Go-to-Sleep-online-free

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

ledaumas

Nov 7, 2014

Excellent acting by Nicole Kidman who holds the picture well and I believe she's in every scene. If not, she dominates every scene then. I know a lot of people aren't watching this film, this movie is for people who like Nicole's characters and she's done it again. She also has a body to dieExcellent acting by Nicole Kidman who holds the picture well and I believe she's in every scene. If not, she dominates every scene then. I know a lot of people aren't watching this film, this movie is for people who like Nicole's characters and she's done it again. She also has a body to die for (if that was her naked body in the movie). Naked, she looks 20 years old.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Spangle

Apr 10, 2017

Upon its release, Rowan Joffe's Before I Go to Sleep often received comparisons to Memento as that film was also a thriller that focused on an amnesiac trying to remember how he wound up the way he is and figure out who he can trust. However, I not like Memento, so I went into Before I Go toUpon its release, Rowan Joffe's Before I Go to Sleep often received comparisons to Memento as that film was also a thriller that focused on an amnesiac trying to remember how he wound up the way he is and figure out who he can trust. However, I not like Memento, so I went into Before I Go to Sleep without comparing it to a film that I enjoy. As a result, I did quite like Before I Go to Sleep. It is undeniably cliched and introduces memories or random actions by Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) out of plot convenience that entirely contradict the fact that she cannot remember. The film also nosedives into melodrama at the very end with a tearjerking final sequence that may make you cry, but feels manipulative. That said, the film is just so tense. It is mysterious, thrilling, and laced with suspense as we live alongside Christine as she tries to figure out who attacked her and deals with emotions evoked by memories, all while trying to figure out who to trust.

Following a brutal attack, Christine Lucas remembers nothing. She believes she is in her 20s and wakes up everyday being informed about who she is, where she is, and what she does by her husband Ben (Colin Firth). After Ben leaves for work, Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong) calls her and reminds her to check for a camera in her wardrobe closet where she records a visual diary daily. He then proceeds to meet her during the day behind Ben's back, who does not want her to remember for fear of her getting upset. The film's tensions continue to rise as we are given cause to not trust both Ben and Dr. Nasch at various points before we come back and believe them again, only to then proceed to continue questioning if they are what they say they are. This is the source of Before I Go to Sleep's greatest amount of tension as this mystery and suspense that unfolds rivals something akin to a Hitchcock film with how it keeps you in the dark. With Christine's illness, we constantly must try and add two-and-two together with the limited details that she can add throughout the day. What compounds the mystery is the fact that both Firth and Strong are British and as Hollywood has taught me, never trust a Brit because they are all shifty. Yet, the film forces us to pick who to trust and it makes it all the more compelling as common sense says neither are wholly trustworthy.

Plot-wise, as mentioned, the film is pretty run-of-the-mill. This may be writer-director Rowan Joffe's fault as the film entirely relies upon the disease of its protagonist and then willingly breaks the rules it sets when convenient, particularly with regard to the reveal of who her attacker was. After initially stating that going to the site of the attack does not work, the film then goes and has the site of the attack bring back memories of it for Christine. That said, when the film threatens to just boil down into a pretty typical who can you trust thriller, it throws in a compelling twist that really breathes life into the film seamlessly. This final twist is really what saves Before I Go to Sleep from being a pretty tame thriller, as well as excellent lead performances from Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong. Each actor turns in a shifty performance that really makes you begin to wonder their true intentions, only to then turn around and seem entirely trustworthy. Yet, we know somebody cannot be trusted. Is it Christine? Is her broken mind playing tricks on her even now? Is it Ben? Is he really just protecting her or is he hiding more? Is it Dr. Nasch? Is he really a doctor? Why does he now want Ben to find out about the treatment? For all of its cliches and narrative shortcomings, Before I Go to Sleep winds up still being a truly entertaining film that shows that a fun, twisty, and slick thriller that has echoes of Hitchcock (who would have directed the hell out of this) can still turn into a pretty good piece of cinema. While not exactly an artistic accomplishment and one that could have used a more capable of director, this one entertains and constantly keeps you an edge with a chilling premise, excellent acting, and eerie score.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

sanyrub

Aug 22, 2015

Very enjoyable thriller with two leading actors that just can not disappoint, as proved in each one of their works. However, it is a type of film we have seen many times before, which does not allow me to go higher with the rating. But it is a good and suspenseful time and the time runningVery enjoyable thriller with two leading actors that just can not disappoint, as proved in each one of their works. However, it is a type of film we have seen many times before, which does not allow me to go higher with the rating. But it is a good and suspenseful time and the time running is not long. For people who enjoy the genre it is a total "see it".… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

HaithamB

Nov 15, 2014

Before I Go to Sleep features excellent performances, but a vulnerable storyline that is familiar to greater movies. Overall, it is entertaining, but unmemorable.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

FilipeNeto

Aug 23, 2018

This movie is a mystery thriller around a woman suffering from a rare amnesia condition due to a serious trauma and who, therefore, wakes up every day thinking she is twenty years old and not even remembering her marriage. The idea would be very interesting if it had been well developed byThis movie is a mystery thriller around a woman suffering from a rare amnesia condition due to a serious trauma and who, therefore, wakes up every day thinking she is twenty years old and not even remembering her marriage. The idea would be very interesting if it had been well developed by the script, but it didn't. As the film goes by, the villain becomes too obvious, as are the plot holes. One of the most obvious is the marriage of Christine (the name of the character, played by Nicole Kidman): if her condition of amnesia causes her to forget only the memories from a given moment of life forward, and if that moment happened when she was already married or, at least, the girlfriend of the one who would become her husband, how could she forget his face? This is just an example of a plot hole I discovered. I will not give more so I will not spoil the whole story. Kidman was OK but not amazing; Colin Firth starts slowly but improves with the film's advance; Mark Strong does a good supporting role but does not have room to do much.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Thegodfatherson

Dec 29, 2014

The sheer amount of absurdness in this movie is unforgivable, this is a VERY badly executed thriller that was borrowed from a mediocre novel that no one cared about anyway. Naomi Watts gave an even worse performance than Diana! Everyone looked like zombies in this movie, I hated it. Ignore.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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