The Life Before Her Eyes (2007)

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

Director:

Vadim Perelman

Writers:

Laura Kasischke (novel), Emil Stern (screenplay)

Stars:

Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri Martino

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Uma Thurman	...	Diana (Adult)
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Diana (Teen)
Eva Amurri Martino	...	Maureen (as Eva Amurri)
Gabrielle Brennan	...	Emma
Brett Cullen	...	Paul
Oscar Isaac	...	Marcus
Jack Gilpin	...	Mr. McCleod
Maggie Lacey	...	Amanda (Adult)
John Magaro	...	Michael Patrick
Lynn Cohen	...	Sister Beatrice
Nathalie Paulding	...	Amanda (Teen) (as Nathalie Nicole Paulding)
Molly Price	...	Diana's Mother
Oliver Solomon	...	Detective
Anna Moore	...	Blonde Student (as Anna Renee Moore)
Isabel Keating	...	Maureen's Mother

Storyline

A dramatic thriller about Diana, a suburban wife and mother who begins to question her seemingly perfect life--and perhaps her sanity--on the 15th anniversary of a tragic high school shooting. In flashbacks, Diana is a vibrant high schooler who, with her shy best friend Maureen, plot typical teenage strategies--cutting class,fantasizing about boys--and vow to leave their sleepy suburb at the first opportunity. The older Diana, however, is haunted by the increasingly strained relationship she had with Maureen as day of the school shooting approached. These memories disrupt the idyllic life she's now leading with her professor husband Paul and their young daughter Emma. As older Diana's life begins to unravel and younger Diana gets closer and closer to the fatal day, a deeper mystery slowly unravels.

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Plot Keywords:

best friend | bikini | sex talk | older man younger woman relationship | teacher student relationship | 

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Taglines:

Diana's life is not what it seems.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the start of the movie, when 'Uma Thruman''s character is flipping through radio stations, one of the songs you hear is "She's not there" by The Zombies (1964), which was covered under the title "About Her" by Malcolm McLaren. That cover was used in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) which Uma also starred in.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Young Diana: [first lines - smoking in the locker room] That old bitch! I'm serious, if I have to jump over another pummel horse, or whatever they're called.
Maureen: You guys should probably put that out.
Young Diana: Why?
Maureen: Shrankins is like 5 feet behind me.

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Connections

Referenced in Teen Wolf: The Tell (2011)

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Soundtracks

She's Not There
Composed by Rod Argent
Performed by The Zombies
Publisher: Marquis Music Co. Ltd. for the World
Zombies recording licensed from Marquis Enterprises Ltd.

User Reviews

knockout impressive movie

Just saw this in Kiev without knowing a thing (except it was in English) because Evan Rachel Wood is a great actress and going to be a major star. This has all the tension and nail-biting suspense of Rukrainian Vadi Perlman's House of Sand + Fog- too much considering the subject. (I could have questioned him at Molodist FF, but saw listing too late). Wood made her bones in this movie- being erotic, sharp, deep, beautiful, wounded, terrified in utterly effortless and unaffected acting. Uma is not my favorite actress- showing the deeply neurotic side of her that I think is real, but it works perfectly in this movie- as she displays the PTSD that every person back from Iraq knows too well. The parallel track of what is going on with her wanton, wild, and maybe damaged daughter adds more tension- has the poison of that event somehow soaked into her daughter? The cinematography is excellent as it charts the deep feelings between 2 best girlfriends, and the mystical internal turmoil over time and memory, now and then, real and illusion.

My only problem is that I know this subject intimately - I reviewed the book Copycat Effect: http://hammernews.com/copycateffect.htm , which proves that almost any publicity about these mass shootings causes kids and adults to reenact them, usually on anniversaries of previous events. "Eyes" showed the shootings again and again in lovingly graphic detail and I don't think this subject should get any major movie play- it's just too dangerous. See if, in a couple of years, some schoolyard shooter doesn't say he saw this movie 20 times. On the other hand, emphasizing the pain and horror of these events is also recommended by shrinks.

Details

Official Sites:

Magnolia Pictures [United States] Metropolitan Films [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 2008 (Poland)

Also Known As:

In Bloom

Filming Locations:

Darien, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,220, 20 April 2008

Gross USA:

$303,439

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,248,490

Company Credits

Production Co:

2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1