The Life Before Her Eyes (2007)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Vadim Perelman

Writers:

Laura Kasischke (novel)
Emil Stern (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 September 2008 (Poland)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Diana's life is not what it seems.

Plot:

A woman's survivor's guilt from a Columbine-like event twenty years ago causes her present-day idyllic life to fall apart.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Shooting | Best Friend | Flashback | High School

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	Diana McFee
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Young Diana
Eva Amurri	...	Maureen
Gabrielle Brennan	...	Emma McFee
Brett Cullen	...	Paul McFee
Oscar Isaac	...	Marcus
Jack Gilpin	...	Mr. McClood
Maggie Lacey	...	Amanda - adult
John Magaro	...	Michael Patrick
Lynn Cohen	...	Sister Beatrice
Nathalie Paulding	...	Amanda - teen
Molly Price	...	Diana's Mother
Oliver Solomon	...	Detective
Isabel Keating	...	Maureen's mother
Anna Moore	...	Blonde Student (as Anna Renee Moore)

Also Known As:

In Bloom (USA) (pre-release title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and disturbing content, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Poland:18 | USA:R (certificate #43660) | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Darien, Connecticut, USA

Company:

2929 Productions

Quotes:

Diana McFee: [bedtime story she reads to Emma] When the voices of children are heard on the green. And laughing is heard on the hill. My heart is at rest within my breast. And everything else is still. Then come home my children, the sun is gone down. And the dews of night arise. Come, come, let us play...

Movie Connections:

Features The Way of the Gun (2000)

Absolutely Perfect!

How did this movie slip by the general public without rave reviews and heavy box office? Some studio missed making a bundle by not producing and distributing this film. Granted, I watched the DVD, having few choices this week from Netflix and from the first chord of James Horner's mesmerizing musical score, I was drawn in unlike any film I've seen this year and I usually see up in the thousands per year. Uma and Evan Rachel have never been better. The extras on the DVD are spoilers so watch the feature first. I was so entranced by each scene that when the final scene appeared, I didn't have a clue as the script was so tightly written. The novel's author was first a poet and her hand at prose is equally as good. I watched it a second time immediately to watch for clues and flaws...there were none. The director, DP, writer, set designer, and the entire cast are ALL Oscar worthy. Maybe the Independent Spirit Awards will heap honors on it next winter. I can see how the film might turn off teen viewers, but to regular adult moviegoers, do NOT miss this movie!