Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Graphic
- melancholic
- foreboding
- dreamy
- psychological thriller night
- serious drama viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film well acted and competently made but confusing, overwrought, and undermined by a gimmicky, manipulative final reveal.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Older Diana's suburban life is intercut with memories of teenage Diana and Maureen as the school shooting anniversary approaches.
Diana's adult identity is haunted by the fifteenth anniversary of the shooting that shaped her relationship with Maureen.
Diana's life with professor husband Paul and daughter Emma appears perfect while increasingly troubling memories disrupt it.
The film uses symbols and an ersatz magic-realist mode to connect Diana's unraveling present with the fatal past.
Films like The Life Before Her Eyes, and why
The Machinist
shared psychological mystery, fractured chronology, grief, and ambiguous reality
Black Swan
shared female-centered psychological drama, unreliable perception, and disturbing revelation
The Lovely Bones
shared trauma-driven mystery, non linear structure, and emotionally unsettling tone
Mulholland Drive
shared suburban unease, fractured identity, and dreamlike psychological suspense
Movie Details
- Director
- Vadim Perelman
- Release Date
- 2007-09-08
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (305)
Cast
- Uma Thurman
- Evan Rachel Wood
- Eva Amurri
- Gabrielle Brennan
- Brett Cullen
- Oscar Isaac
- Jack Gilpin
- John Magaro
- Nathalie Paulding
- Maggie Lacey
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Life Before Her Eyes about?
- A suburban mother’s seemingly perfect life fractures as teenage memories of her best friend and a school shooting expose a buried psychological mystery.
- What is The Life Before Her Eyes like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Life Before Her Eyes as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Life Before Her Eyes violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Life Before Her Eyes as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Life Before Her Eyes?
- Critics broadly found the film well acted and competently made but confusing, overwrought, and undermined by a gimmicky, manipulative final reveal.
- Which films are like The Life Before Her Eyes?
- Films with a similar feel include The Machinist, Black Swan, The Lovely Bones, and Mulholland Drive.
- How long is The Life Before Her Eyes?
- The Life Before Her Eyes runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Life Before Her Eyes?
- In United States, The Life Before Her Eyes streams on Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel.
