Having read (and enjoyed) the book by S.J. Watson and now seeing the filmed adaptation of Before I Go To Sleep (10/31) has gone to Clarius Entertainment, I feel like I’m going to have to pass on the upcoming thriller in which Nicole Kidman stars as a woman who wakes up every day, remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past. One day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.
It’s one thing to read the description of the novel and seeing it compared to Christopher Nolan‘s Memento and then reading the book, but it was never a story that would easily translate to the big screen, at least not in a way that looks as hacky as what Rowan Joffe has done here.
[amz asin=”B004GUSG4M” size=”small”]When you’re reading the novel it doesn’t have any of these massive visual flourishes, sound effects or score underlying each character’s every move. Had this been done in a very minimal sort of way, almost something like what Roman Polanski might have done in the ’60s than maybe, just maybe it would have worked. However, as is, it looks like glossy cheap thrills.
If you’re interested in the movie have a look at the trailer below, if not, give the book a chance. Hell, if you want to you can imagine Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong are the characters and I bet you’ll have a better time.
