Before I Go to Sleep

Director: Rowan Joffe

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong

Nicole Kidman at the best of times is stuck in a rut. The actress, who is an Oscar winner for her role in The Hours, tends to play the same damsel in distress character across most of her films. That’s not to say she hasn’t starred in some amazing productions, particularly the brilliant The Others where she played a mother trying to protect her children or the cold and aloof lady from Stoker. However, in terms of being challenged in a role, it’s a long time since we have really seen anything entirely worthwhile.

Interestingly, Kidman has taken on Before I Go to Sleep, a role which Princess Grace, who she recently played in Grace of Monaco may not have taken on in her lifetime. It’s impossible to be unaware of the impact of Alfred Hitchcock on cinema and Before I Go to Sleep is no exception. The similarities between this and Dial M for Murder are startling, including its leading character and the overwhelming sense of dread all the way through. However, Hitchcock knew how to end a movie, a talent Joffe most certainly does not have. Nor could he ever dream of taking on the crown of the King of Suspense.

Before I Go to Sleep revolves around Kidman’s character, Christine, a woman whose memory is erased every night after she falls asleep. The only person she can depend on is her husband Ben who every morning reminds her who she is and how long they have been together. However, one morning in particular, she wakes up to a phone call from a doctor who tells her to go find a camera in her room. A video of herself on the camera reveals that she doesn’t actually trust Ben and Christine thinks there is far more her story than she initially aware of.

Through the course of recording her personal memories, Christine discovers that she had an accident a few years back where she was left for dead. However, she has no idea who would have attacked her or indeed why they would have attacked her. She also discovers that far from being alone, she had a life with friends, a life that seems very far removed from her lonely existence. Throughout her personal discovery, Christine attempts to figure out the truth and who she can trust.

Typically, Kidman is not any different from the roles that she has played before; again here she is the damsel in distress. Even though she has no memory of her missing fourteen years, she doesn’t seem in the slightest bit concerned about trusting a hell of a lot of complete strangers. On top of that, Firth, who always plays the darling of cinema and the man who is often the saviour, doesn’t seem well cast as the villain of the piece, which is made obvious from the outset. Mark Strong is also woefully underused.

For the most part, the tension in Before I Go To Sleep is flashy and used cheaply; there are a lot of scares when there doesn’t necessarily need to be and not enough when they are required. Although the tension is built up, the entire film is completely predictable and in parts, quite drab so even though the running time amounts to little more than a half an hour, this can get quite boring in parts.

It’s fine but realistically you should probably just go and rent a Hitchcock film again. In fact, just rent Dial M for Murder.

The Guest

Director: Adam Wingard

Cast: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Sheila Kelley

It is always incredibly difficult for TV stars to make the move to the big screen and very few have been successful in doing this, besides the likes of George Clooney and let’s be fair, he is very much in the minority. It was most certainly going to be even more difficult for a cast member from Downton Abbey to make that move. Considering the popularity of the show and the fact that we are dealing with a lot of very rich English ladies and gentlemen, it would have been very difficult to believe that one of the most popular characters would eventually end up playing a very American soldier who returns home after a very modern war.

Dan Stevens played Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, a programme that even the caused the creators to be taken aback by its popularity. Stevens played the ultimate gentleman, a man of the people who inherited quite a wealthy estate and gained quite a beautiful wife along the way. However, once he played that particular role, it was going to be very difficult to get away from it. The Guest is going to change all of that. In fact, they should just give him an Oscar now.

The Guest revolves around David Collins, a solider who returns to the family of one of his companions who died during the war in order to pass on a very important message. The family, distraught in their grief, welcome David into their home and invite him to stay with them, believing he will be able to help them in their mourning. However, it becomes obvious quite quickly that David has a very different motive for visiting the family in question.

The Guest is the most perfect nod to 80s cinema, full of nostalgia, a great soundtrack and with some amazing intimidating shots of Dan Stevens face, this 94 minute journey is full of entertainment, hilariously funny in sections and just an absolute diamond in the rough, which was something most audiences are certainly not going to be expecting.

However, the film is most certainly taken to another level thanks to Dan Stevens’ performance. An exceptionally attractive man, Stevens character development over the film is flawless, turning from charming soldier friend at the outset to terrible villain halfway through. That’s not to give away any spoilers here, you can pretty much see where this is going from the start but that doesn’t take away from the fun in any way.

Some of the scenes throughout are overacted with ridiculous action that you would find difficult to believe even in an Arnie film, but this just somehow works. If you don’t fall in love with Stevens after this, then you have obviously been watching a different film.

This will certainly be one of those films that you can declare quite proudly you have seen in the cinema.