Before I go to Sleep

Before I Go to Sleep stars Nicole Kidman as Christine, a woman suffering from amnesia that erases her memories every day after she sleeps, leaving her to navigate a life that feels foreign each morning. Awakening next to her husband, Ben (Colin Firth), she doesn’t recognize him, herself, or much of anything else, struggling to piece together fragments of who she once was. Kidman and Firth are the movie’s saving grace, delivering captivating performances that work hard to breathe life into the thriller’s murky narrative. Their acting, along with director Rowan Joffe’s careful choices early on, creates a palpable sense of dread that grips the audience and evokes Christine’s paranoia and confusion. However, Before I Go to Sleep struggles to sustain its tension and mystery, missing the potential of its intriguing premise.

Joffe begins with an interesting setup: each day, Christine’s psychologist, Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), reminds her to retrieve a hidden camera where she records the day’s revelations. This clever device plunges the audience into Christine’s world of uncertainty and paranoia as she begins to suspect those around her, including Ben. Joffe does a commendable job of capturing Christine’s daily terror as she becomes both the protagonist and her own witness, filming herself in fleeting moments of self-clarity. This gives the early scenes an unsettling energy as Christine navigates her relationships with both Dr. Nasch and Ben, each appearing to oscillate between trustworthy and sinister.
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However, as the mystery unfolds, the movie falters, revealing plot holes and losing its momentum. By aiming to ramp up the twists and turns, Joffe trades the suspense for a sense of contrivance. The film’s relentless reveals start to feel forced, as if each scene is simply the next stage in a screenwriting exercise rather than an organic progression of the story. This leaves Christine’s experience—and by extension, the audience’s—somewhat hollow, like a thriller that’s over-explaining itself rather than letting the tension simmer.
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Visually, Before I Go to Sleep also misses an opportunity to enhance its eerie atmosphere. Relying heavily on close-ups of Christine and the two primary men in her life, the movie lacks the stylish, disorienting cinematography that could have elevated its psychological tone. Joffe resorts to cheap sound effects, like sudden noises and near-miss traffic scenes, in place of genuine suspense-building techniques, which can feel like a distracting afterthought in a film meant to lean heavily on the psychological thriller genre.

Ultimately, Before I Go to Sleep feels like a missed opportunity. It raises the stakes and promises shocking conclusions, only to deliver a less-than-satisfying payoff. While Nicole Kidman’s performance is undeniably strong, embodying Christine’s fear, determination, and vulnerability, the film doesn’t give her character much depth beyond the repetitive cycle of memory loss. It’s an interesting concept that, despite a few bright spots, stumbles in its execution.