My Life Without Me
Lose your fear. Find yourself.
Ever feel your life's been a dream and you're only just waking up? Sarah Polley (GO, eXistenZ) stars as Ann, a young wife and mother who's recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. After vowing to keep her terrible news a secret, Ann begins living with an intensity she never thought possible.
With senses heightened and passions rekindled, she quickly begins putting her life in order: taping love letters to her husband Don ("Felicity's" Scott Speedman) and birthday greetings to her two small girls, making peace with her parents; and seeking solace in the arms of a handsome but lonely stranger (Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me). Gripping, joyful and sensitive, My Life Without Me is a touching tale for today that challenges us to live as if there were no tomorrow.
Member Reviews
Emotional - bbryon1
How would you react if you knew, at the age of 23, that you only had two months to live, at best? That is the premise of this highly emotional story told unflinchingly under the direction of Isabel Coixet. Sarah Polley is Ann, the woman who gets the devastating news, and decides not to tell anyone that she is dying. That might not be your choice, but given the life she has led to this point, the absent father, the chain smoking mother, the life in a trailer with the first man she kissed and two their kids, her choices make a certain kind of sense. It is not as depressing as it sounds.Intriguing - 0930tracey
A very daunting, yet touching tale of a young wife and mother who finds out she is very ill. Facing a short future, she starts to look at her life differently. Sarah Polley is phenomenal in this film, with Scott Speedman and Mark Ruffalo delivering amazing performances.Unique - eoguy
It seems many films dealing with terminal illness fall victim to never-ending clichés and the result becomes a rather pallid TV movie-of-the-week feeling that oozes cheesiness along with a decidedly maudlin tone. There is a very good reason this film won the Goya (Spanish Academy Awards) for Best Screenplay. The tale is handled in a superb manner in that our protagonist, excellently played by Canadian actress Sarah Polley, keeps her illness a secret. Consequently, rather than crafting a woe-is-me tale where everyone around Sarah is in tears for the rest of the film, the movie instead charts the course of how this news liberates Sarah from the life she has pretty much coasted through. The film does a wonderful job of forcing us to recognize how many of us go through life on cruise control, settling for what is rather than what might be. The result is an extremely poignant film that touches the heart, and reminds the head that tomorrow brings no guarantees, either of life or second chances. Polley is wonderful as always. Ben Speedman, of “Felicity” fame”, is perfectly cast as Sarah’s easy-going husband. Mark Ruffalo does a nice turn as Sarah’s new gentleman caller and Debbie Harry does well as Sarah’s spiritually damaged mother. Amanda Plummer does another of her oddball roles as Sarah’s workmate. This is a small film with a big heart and a rather profound contemplation of how often we take our lives for granted. It’s a film that has a resonance that stays with the viewer for a long time afterwards.
Member Reviews
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Emotional - bbryon1
How would you react if you knew, at the age of 23, that you only had two months to live, at best? That is the premise of this highly emotional story told unflinchingly under the direction of Isabel Coixet. Sarah Polley is Ann, the woman who gets the devastating ...Intriguing - 0930tracey
A very daunting, yet touching tale of a young wife and mother who finds out she is very ill. Facing a short future, she starts to look at her life differently. Sarah Polley is phenomenal in this film, with Scott Speedman and Mark Ruffalo delivering amazing ...Unique - eoguy
It seems many films dealing with terminal illness fall victim to never-ending clichés and the result becomes a rather pallid TV movie-of-the-week feeling that oozes cheesiness along with a decidedly maudlin tone. There is a very good reason this film won the ...