Nov 7, 2010

My life without me, 2003


My life without me, 2003
Director: Isabel Coixet
Cast: Sarah Polley, Amanda Plummer, Scott Speedman, Mark Ruffalo



Stage: home TV selection, a nice Wednesday evening and no clue what is on when turning it on.


My life without me in short; Ann, 23 years old, lives a modest life with her two kids and her husband in a trailer in her mother's garden. Her life takes a dramatic turn, when her doctor tells her that she has uterine cancer and only two months to live. She compiles a list of things to do before she dies.


Preps: I don't know the movie, the genre, haven't got a clue about it. So no preps there. But I adore the title and the main actress in a glance.


Reality: The idea of living a normal life, when suddenly the breathstriking news about a cancer and two months to your life's end is.. well, it is taken out of reality. No place for fiction here, no exits and no tolerance beyond the image of death that is approaching. So what do you do? Do you tell other people? Do you at least tell your spouse? Or your children, if you have them.. or on the other hand, do you spare them the experience of going with you into the hospital and waiting for the inevitable..
The movie deals with many of these issues and aspects of everyday life - as it changes, if you get a mortal sentence. How much of this you share is up to the individual, in this case the woman decides to save the pain for herself and indulge life as much as possible for the next two months. Seems logical, to put things you should do until then, on a piece of paper and start making them real. Nevertheless, the scary part of the movie is the simple philosophical dilemma or question - how come none of us make such lists or live a full life as it is? Why does it have to include a deadline? And finally, will my life be richer if I decide to live it fully for the next two months - why not try to live it all the time? In any case, it makes me think about my every day decisions - the way we save champagne cups for special occasions or something that we are waiting for the right moment to come by to indulge - like a classy wine, or special suit. Do we need to have a speciall Cinderella ball to wear a pretty dress? No, definitely not.
The movie will remind you of the things you leave behind or things you want to do and wait for the appropriate occasion/moment. It sets pace to every day life so that you live it and don't watch it go by. And makes you put priorities to things. Or to look from other perspective. Is my partner the right one? How many nights do I still have with my kids. How about teenage romance or adventure? Or going around the country to visit a special spot. It's the philosophy that would need to be implemented in our normal life. Especially if we are healthy. The cast in the movie is great, the situations taken from scenery you can easily adopt and personalize with yours. And the message is clear - take whatever you can from the time that is given to you. And make others respect that too.


My personal rating: 8,5 (I would love to see it again as it represents a different spectrum of life as you are used to and familiar with. Takes you to the edge and because of its impact I think about it long time afterwards)

My life on IMDB
My life's official site

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