This twisty, chilly, thriller falls squarely in the “they don’t make them like this anymore” bracket. A hark back to the 80s and 90s when movies such as ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘Final Analysis’ attracted big name stars. It’s success at the box office, in the UK at least, may mean that this type of film is coming back into fashion.
Based on a best selling book by S.J. Watson, Nicole Kidman stars as Claire, a 40 year old woman who is suffers ongoing problems following a head trauma. Each night when she sleeps her memory is erased, so every day she has to piece together details of her life, including getting to know her husband, Ben (Colin Firth). Helping her is a psychologist, Dr Nash (Mark Strong) who seems to mistrust Ben and has told Claire to keep their meetings a secret. Are his fears justified? Is Ben somehow responsible for her injuries? Or does he have his own devious motives? This is a movie totally reliant on the machinations of the plot, so I won’t give any spoilers…
If you can get over the absurdity of the premise, then the first hour of the film should keep you intrigued if not totally engaged. The pacing is a bit ponderous and there are too many repetitive scenes. That is always a danger if the story involves someone basically reliving the same day, but it was something that was successfully avoided by most famously Groundhog Day, and also The Edge of Tomorrow earlier this year.
At about the hour point there is what seems to be a terrific twist that I certainly did not see coming. However, once you get over the shock of that, the realisation dawns that the already flimsy plot is now full of holes as a result of that twist. Accordingly, the rest of the film is a let down. A violent confrontation is contrived (and strictly by the numbers) and the ending is pretty limp.
Of the performances, Kidman is better than she has been for some time (despite her incessant whispering which grates a little). Strong is good in a typical brooding part for him, but Firth is the most impressive playing (maybe) against type. Those performances and a decent first hour means this is worth a watch but don’t expect the plot to stand up to much scrutiny!
Rating 5.5 out of 10