57
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttSuccessfully surmounts nearly all the challenges of making a film about a young person dying. Which means the writer-director avoids pitfalls. It is not cloying or sentimental or falsely optimistic. It avoids bathos and exaggerated emotions. Instead, the film affirms life in surprising and gratifying ways.
- 70L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorMy Life Without Me was produced by the studio of Pedro Almodóvar, and one sees the Spanish director's influence in the way Polley edges her Madonna with a touch of the reckless sensualist.
- 70VarietyDavid StrattonVarietyDavid StrattonWith a glowing performance by Sarah Polley as the doomed woman, this Spanish-Canadian co-prod, filmed in English, is surprisingly adept at avoiding the worst cliches and most manipulative elements inherent in such a story.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasA splendid cast, coupled with Isabel Coixet's deeply committed writing and direction, goes a long way to make this movie affecting to watch even it if doesn't hold up well to reflection once the lights go up.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThis hankie-yanker is an emotional cheat.
- 50The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasAsks for sympathy for deplorable behavior.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceWhat's annoying and eventually absurd is writer-director Isabel Coixet's decision to have her heroine keep the diagnosis a secret.
- 40New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerA weepie for audiences under the (mistaken) impression that independent movies are always more emotionally honest than Hollywood movies.
- 38ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliA maudlin hack-job.
- 25Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittIn short, this isn't a poignant drama about courage and imagination -- it's a contrived fantasy about courage and imagination.