The Life Before Her Eyes [Blu-ray] [2008] (Region 2) (Import)

I just wanted to add another positive review of this film. I don't want to give anything away - but would lke to say that the film does not end abruptly, with no regard to plot or characters, as previous reviewers have suggested. It is a great ending that gives the film meaning. The performances are excellent, and the surreal feeling of some of the scenes entirely intentional and apt. It is the story that did it for me though, which I thought was a wonderful idea. A second viewing revealed a nice clue as to what was going on, and as a previous reviewer mentioned, knowing the ending didn't detract from the enjoyment of the film. I watched a lot of films this year, and this is just about my favourite one - and the only one I have written a review of in amazon. Please ignore the negative reviews and give this film a chance.

I don't quite know why Pierce Brosnan is listed here on the Amazon page, because he's not in this. The Life Before Her Eyes is a drama from the director of House of Sand and Fog and deals with equally weighty issues concerning the main characters. It stars the dream combination of Evan Rachel Wood and a bizarely buxom Uma Thurman and is beautifully shot. The score by James 'Titanic' Howard is also gorgeous.
That's the good. The bad is that you can probably guess the ending within the first five minutes. To say any more or to compare it to other movies would give the game away but at least it looks great and has decent performances by the three female leads, one of whom is Susan Sarandon's daughter. It doesn't all fit together quite as well as it should and feels simultaneously vague and heavy-headed, but it is definitely worth a look.

I had to write this review, as it was disappointing to see many of the other reviews so damning in so few words (most only said a couple of derogatory lines about it before promptly giving it 1 or 2 stars). The first time I watched this film, I admit I didn't get the ending straight away, and nor did I understand entirely what was going on throughout - but I was intrigued. At no point did I think it was stupid or pointless, and by the end I felt all the more curious about this movie, to the point where I watched it again a few days later. It was at this point that it started to make "more sense", for want of a better phrase. Obviously, I don't want to say too much about it otherwise I'll give the whole thing away, but watching it the second time was far more fulfilling than the first. Knowing what was going to happen didn't spoil the affects of it at all; in fact it was interesting and somewhat exciting to sit back and look out for the hints and clues weaved throughout the storyline, and then to enjoy the film for what it actually is. The acting is also brilliant, particularly from Evan Rachel Wood and Eva Amurri (who playing young Diana and her best friend Maureen respectively).
A lot of the information and reviews that I've read about this film since just don't seem to "get" it at all. They either haven't given it any chance, and simply downcried it as being crass and "incomplete", or they've misunderstood it and used those incorrect theories as opportunity to give the film a poor rating. All I can say is give it a chance. Maybe watch it a second or third time. Read the theories about it online to help you make up your own mind about it. I've watched it a third time recently, and can finally say that I really do like this film. I admit to not being sure about it at first - certainly not sure enough about it to actually buy it. However today, I have finally purchased it. I just had to write a review as best as possible without, as I say, giving any of it away, just to try to implore people to not always judge a film by it's ratings/reviews - you might be pleasantly surprised like I was.