The Life Before This
Live each day... it may be your last.
Several innocent bystanders are hurt or killed when a casino heist gone wrong spills into the neighboring café. We are then taken back in time to the morning of the shooting and follow the lives of the bystanders throughout their day to see what choices in an alternate reality, would change the outcome of the impending doom.
The Life Before This stars Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Stephen Rea (The End of the Affair, The Crying Game, Crime of the Century), Catherine O'Hara (Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone and Home Alone II, Beetlejuice), Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix, Congo, The Fugitive) and Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter, Go).
Member Reviews
Pointless Twice Told Tales - SooGuy
The Life Before This fails miserably at an attempt to take an interesting "what if" premise and run with it. The film begins with a pair of theives brandishing weapons enter a coffee shop and begin shooting at each other and anything that moves, the film then backtracks and follows the characters lives up to the climatic scene examining the decisions that lead the to be there. The synopsis of the film makes it sound like a Canadian version of the much better executed Run Lola Run (1999) in which characters make different decisions affecting the ultimate outcome. In reality the choices the characters of this film make have little if any direct connection to the final outcome. Sadly disappointing film, not much to recommend.
A small footnote the film was obviously inspired by the 1994 killing of innocent bystander Vivi Lemonis in a Toronto cafe by armed robbers.Not bad, but I'm not sure what the point was - mbg-
This is one of those movies that starts with an ending and then shows you the events leading up to the ending.
It shows a variety of different characters, many of which are portrayed by the "usual suspects" of Canadian cinema. The sets are usually nice to look at.
But, ultimately, I'm not sure what the point was. If it's simply that your fate is not set in stone, I'm not sure it needed to take so long to make that point. The point has been made before, and it wasn't done too differently in this movie.
And I'm tired of Sarah Polley.
Member Reviews
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Pointless Twice Told Tales - SooGuy
The Life Before This fails miserably at an attempt to take an interesting "what if" premise and run with it. The film begins with a pair of theives brandishing weapons enter a coffee shop and begin shooting at each other and anything that moves, the film then ...Not bad, but I'm not sure what the point was - mbg-
This is one of those movies that starts with an ending and then shows you the events leading up to the ending.
It shows a variety of different characters, many of which are portrayed by the "usual suspects" of Canadian cinema. The sets are usually nice ...