Features actors: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Murri, Brett Cullen & Gabrielle Brenan. Diana is a 17 year old who goes to school at Hillview High School.Diana has a rebel side and is always getting into trouble, and almost seems fearless.Her best friend Maureen is the opposite of Diana,more shy and conserative.Flash forward to the older Diana who is married with a daughter who remind her too much of her younger self.It becomes clear that Diana is no longer the crazy girl she used to be,and it soon shows why she has changed her life so dramatically.When she flashes back to high school it is finally revealed there was a life and death situation,that not only changed the lives of these two best friends but everyone one around them and the town.Pay close attention to this movie it has a lot of flashbacks, it keeps you guessing until the end what really happened the fateful day in high school.The ending of the movie just goes to show how things can change in the blink of an eye & how your whole life could change from it.Would recommend to rent.Hope this helps you decide.Please click YES at the bottom.Thanks for taking the time to read this. :)Read full review
One of the most thought-provoking dramatic thrillers I've seen in a long time. The acting by the entire cast was stellar, with Thurman, Wood and Amurri giving powerful performances. This is a movie that will keep you guessing and engaged until the final credits roll. You'll find "gems" in it upon repeated viewings too. While other reviewers mention details of the film, I think that more enjoyment can be derived from knowing little or nothing about the story before watching the movie. ONLY after viewing it, I highly recommend the BEHIND THE SCENES feature, which is nearly 55 minutes long and goes into enjoyable details of the production, characters, story, and cast. That feature clearly WARNS viewers that it is a SPOILER feature and should be watched after seeing the movie. My hat is off to whoever put that warning there. I think it's especially warranted for this film.Read full review
This movie will show you how fast your life can change, and that every decision you make will affect your life and those around you. Life is all about choices. You choose to go to the bathroom, you choose to eat that cupcake. That is one of the main messages in this movie. I had no idea what to expect while watching this and it definitely surprised me. It's frightening to watch, to know that bad things can happen to anyone, even good people. But everything happens for a reason. I thought it was a tad slow, but it keeps your interest due to it's highly mysterious plot, that will shock you towards the end. It's also a bit confusing throughout and you will be asking yourself some questions. A must watch at least once, recommended!
Evan Rachel Wood has finally found the role that will define her as the most talented actress of her generation, a role so demanding in its nature that it requires her to show both the details in the everyday life of teenagers and the intense emotional turmoil at the core of Diana's nature. The film balances the duality of life: its beauty and frailty, its highs and lows, the precarious balance that every human must deal with while facing adulthood. Diana is a superbly written character, one that is not simple in its nature, but detailed, organic portrayal of a girl who has too much fire in her to help her fit in, but who ironically longs what her best friend has. She is not complete unless she spends time with Maureen, and there is true, genuine affection between these two girls. They know each other's dreams, troubles, hopes, and disappointments. The beauty of the film is how natural the dialog flows as we reach the surprising ending. In general, the film is a masterpiece, a work of art that explores the possibilities of life, the repercussions of a single moment, the way, we must make choices and determine what we think might be best for us, and yet, what if, we had chosen differently. This is a movie that turns clichés upside down, giving us a new perspective on how refreshing storytelling can be if approached with a original design. Superb photography and a haunting score add to the overall effect, but it all rests on the shoulders of a very talented young woman, a girl who can tell us stories in seconds with just a look... and she brings to mind those cinema stars of the past, before CGI started stealing our creativity and numbing our minds and hearts.Read full review
This film shows us some of the best cinematography I've seen in years & is a masterpiece. Ukranian born Vadim Perelman comes back with sheer & utter blinding talent on this film after his debut as a screenwriter and director for House of Sand & Fog (2003) starring Ben Kingsley & Jennifer Connelly. Cinema is much more interesting when new directors try new exciting ways of telling a story. I can't wait to see Perelman's third film Poltergeist hopefully to be out in 2013. Creating the sequences in The Life Before Her Eyes must have been nerve-racking; trying to decipher life into tiny moments by editing various time frames together to make an extremely intelligent and complex interplay of images. We seldom if ever find a film that captures the fleetingness of life in such a philosophical & allegorical way. The use of a superb mixture of images, motif, sound, timing, smart dialogue, use of replay for traumatic overture & cascading suspense, mystery, casting, direction, editing, & acting all give this film every ingredient for top notch rating & life-long impact. The solid conflict-resolution theme allows the viewer to expect more from this film, promising us to deliver the right message at the right time, often bringing us just a step away from the precipice, but always jerking us back in the nick of time to prepare us for the next series of revealing sequences. The film quickly establishes the main characters, who play a very important role in the telling. Diana is doubly played as young (Evan Rachel Wood) & the 15 years older (Uma Thurman). Both roles are played with believability. Wood holds her own against the backdrop of a much more mature Thurman since Wood's eyes look to tell everything about her in seconds. A picture can do that, yet not many actors are interesting enough to have that Hollywood starlet allure, yet both Wood & Thurman seem to capture the essence of the role and play it convincingly well. Funny that the working title of this film was changed from "In Bloom" back to The Life Before Her Eyes". It would almost seem a better name for the film as to not give away the experience of watching the film unfold without any clues or cues as to what may transpire. The Turkish title Bir nefeste hayat translates out to "The Life in a breath". Certain lines in this films tend to set you on either euphoria or the precipice. The lines most interestingly positioned in the film for maximum effect are "Conscience is the voice of GOD, the nature and heart of man." "The heart is the body's strongest organ." A fact "72% of the body is composed of water. Also, when Michael says "If I don't kill you, who should I kill?" Symbolism is used throughout this film. The master of symbols used in this film has to be the symbolic nature of water to represent life & death. We see this death metaphor played out in humanity with the phrases "River of Life", "Crossing Over Jordan", & the piercing of Jesus's side & the mixing of blood with water. The secondary motif often used is flowing blood. A third motif is blinding fog. James Horner, who also worked with the director of this film on House of Sand & Fog, delivers a haunting music score, which adds to the David Lynchian style of sensory overload. The overall haunting effect of this film on your senses makes this 2002 novel written by Laura Kasischke a perfect career debut film choice for screenplay writer Emil Stern III who also wrote the screenplay for Tenderness (2009 Russell Crowe).Read full review
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