The Life Before Her Eyes

I also saw this at Toronto, and visually speaking, this movie is one of the best looking films of the year. This director's first film was the great "House of Sand and Fog" and here he confirms how talented he is. Uma Thurman hasn't been better as she plays a woman who is now well into adulthood, living in the small town that she grew up in, with a professor husband and a little girl. I love the way Perelman uses flashbacks here to inform us about Thurman as a teen. In many films, flashbacks can yank us around and cut tension, but here Evan Rachel Wood is so good that the two characters are seamlessly interwoven in a way that we are treated to a complex character study of a grown woman who is driving herself mad with regret and anxiety and guilt. There's nothing more fascinating than watching conflict that is internal rather than external, and Thurman here is so good, I hope she is remembered come Oscar season.

Just a solid movie in every way. Good score from James Horner, the guy who did the music for "A Beautiful Mind" and "House of Sand and Fog", equally lovely scores in their own right.

I've never posted a review or even so much as commented on a film here, or anywhere else BUT after just viewing this movie I wanted to see other opinions.

This was the first site I stumbled upon. Im not even going to comment on the the life before her eyes, instead I'd like to question some of the negative reviews left.

To slate a movie and then say that the you "skipped" scenes and obviously didn't pick up on MAJOR plot points explained throughout the movie many times is sad to be honest. Many of the negative reviews are complete drivel and only serve to show the stupidity or idiocy of the reviewer.

Other negative reviews are coherent and we'll written and even though I enjoyed the movie I can understand some of the annoyances. I doubt I'll ever take the time to post here again :D (Im the lazy sort) but I would recommend this movie to anyone as its one of the better movies I've seen in a long time :) BUT I would warn that its slow moving and tries to be a little too emotional for its own good.

that is all

Greetings again from the darkness. Most rated director Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog" higher than I, but I believe this is a much better and far more interesting film than his earlier effort. Based on the novel by Laura Kasischke, this is a bit of an eerie mind-bender that maintains an intoxicating look and feel.

Evan Rachel Wood adds to her amazing list of strong performances with pure teen angst, but this time there is an additional depth not seen before. Uma Thurman plays the 15 year senior version of Ms. Woods character and delivers one of her best yet. Also of note is Eva Amurri as Wood's friend Maureen who plays a key role at decision time. Ms. Amurri is also Susan Sarandon's real life daughter.

Can't give away much of this one, but I will say it is a joy to watch scene construction and the back and forth between present and past (or is it present and future) make for a multi-layered film that is engrossing in its delivery. Plus, the Zombies song makes a few appearances ... very cool.

It was a decent movie. I'm a huge fan of Uma & Evan Rachel Wood.... With that being said... The ending made me kind of mad. There's so much more they could've done with that movie.

Vadim Perelman's 'The Life Before Her Eyes' is just as powerful but equally complex as his harrowing 'The House of Sand and Fog'. This movie is just as engaging and at times, also confusing. Perelman uses fascinating visuals. The film opens with a montage of various beautiful flowers (that have a symbolic definition) and then follows two girls to a highschool bathroom. The shootout scene takes place only within the bathroom while we hear gunfire in the background but for me this movie has achieved in that first sequence what the pretentious 'Elephant' didn't (which was also about a highschool shootout). While the focus is on the two girls, you literally see the fear in their eyes as their 'nice' day is interrupted and their lives are threatened.

On the technical side, it is a very well crafted film. The cinematography, the music, the sets and editing are all top notch. The visuals are detailed and pretty much every frame has something to say.

The ending is different from that of the book but I think both of them rise the same question. What would have you done if you were in Diana's shoes? The question isn't easy to answer because you never actually know unless you are facing such circumstance. That is the test of one's courage. Emil Stern's screenplay is dazzling. The story doesn't follow a linear structure but there's a reason for that. Dialogues are laden with interesting philosophy. Perelman beautifully tackles numerous themes such as friendship, post-traumatic stress, motherhood and abortion among others.

The cast features three powerful performances: by Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood and Eva Amurri. Thurman's portrayal of Diana's complexity, devotion to her family and inability to cope with her past is spot on. Wood and Amurri deliver very natural performances as two girls going through the usual teen problems but dealing with it differently because 'one has what the other doesn't' and that way they help each other. Their on screen friendship is very convincing hinting that they might actually be good friends in real life. Then there's the bathroom scene which could have easily gone wrong had it been played by lesser actresses but this is one of the most powerful scenes in a movie of recent time and one only has to watch it to understand its impact.

'The Life Before Her Eyes' is not an easy film to follow and those who are looking for something simple or light may feel let down but on the other hand it's a very strong movie. Perelman has hit the mark again just like he did with 'The House of Sand and Fog'. He seems to be intrigued by tragic stories and bringing them on screen. He does one hell of a job, again.