Before I Go to Sleep (2014)
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A woman with severe memory loss must navigate a web of lies to uncover the truth about her past and her identity.
The story
Christine Lucas wakes up next to a man she does not know, who claims to be her husband, Ben. She has suffered severe brain damage from a car accident fourteen years ago, leaving her with no memory of her life from her early twenties onwards. Under the care of a neuropsychologist, she begins a treatment to piece together her past. However, she is instructed to keep her progress secret from Ben. As she begins to uncover fragments of her former life, she starts to question the reality of the life she is currently living and the truth behind the accident that stole her memories.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Christine Lucas suffers from severe amnesia following an attack fourteen years ago. Her husband, Ben, claims she was in a car accident. During treatment with a neuropsychologist, she begins to recall a woman named Claire and a son named Adam. Ben claims Claire was a friend who lost contact and that Adam died of meningitis. Christine eventually discovers that Ben had previously abandoned her and that Claire had been trying to reach her. She learns that she had an affair before the attack and that Ben had a one-time encounter with Claire. When she shows her recorded memories to Ben, he becomes violent and she realizes the man she is living with is not her husband. She discovers the man is actually Mike, her former lover who attacked her. After a confrontation and a fire, she is hospitalized. The real Ben and her alive son, Adam, appear, and her memories fully return.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States; France; Sweden
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rowan Joffé
- Writers
- Rowan Joffé · writer
- Cast and characters
- Nicole Kidman · Christine; Mark Strong; Colin Firth; Anne-Marie Duff
- Genres
- mystery; psychological thriller
- Themes
- amnesia; identity; deception
- Tone and mood
- tense; mysterious
- Setting
- Present day, following a traumatic event 14 years prior.
- Premise and plot tags
- amnesia; mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2011 novel of the same name by S. J. Watson
- Reception
- The film was met with generally mixed reviews from critics. It was unfavorably compared with Memento, with critics noting it used the premise as a gimmick rather than a tool for storytelling.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 41 · scale: 100 · review count: 31; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in London and at Twickenham Studios.; Ridley Scott bought the film rights of the novel in 2011.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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