An understandable reaction to hearing about a psychological mystery thriller written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Rowan Joffe, which starred Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, would be one of excitement.
Throw in popular source material serving as the inspiration, and Before I Go to Sleep had all the makings of a mid budget genre piece skewed towards older audiences, the kind that can often play very well. That was the plan, anyway, until the literary adaptation wound up flopping hard at the box office, and being widely panned by critics.
Kidman’s Christine has suffered from amnesia ever since she barely survived a vicious attack, one that’s left her unable to form new memories. As a result, she has to get reacquainted with her husband every morning, along with the rest of the regular faces in her life.
However, she soon begins to uncover a series of disturbing truths about her past, leading to an increased sense of paranoia… unless she’s actually right. Before I Go to Sleep didn’t even come close to recouping the $22 million budget at the box office, and critics were hardly kind in their summation.
There’s some enjoyment to be derived from how ludicrous it all gets by the third act, but for the most part, it’s a bit of a star-studded bust. However, Before I Go to Sleep has been surging on Netflix this week, having found a spot on the most-watched list, as per FlixPatrol.
