The Life Before Her Eyes (2008) Synopsis:
Oscar-nominee Uma Thurman plays 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 that took the life of her best friend. In flashbacks, Diana is a vibrant high schooler (played by Evan Rachel Wood of "Thirteen" and "The Upside of Anger") 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.
The Life Before Her Eyes (2008) Movie Review:
The Life Before Her Eyes is an emotional, grief-stricken journey that overall is worth taking. However, the twist in the final ten minutes of the film hampers it from sincerity and its trusted position as well as clarity.
The story follows a Columbine like massacre, which includes two teenage friends, Diana (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maureen (Eva Amurri). The two are merely opposites, with Diana being the wild one that sleeps with older men, smokes pot, gets into trouble constantly, while Maureen is the follow-the-rules Christian girl. The opposites of the two are what first develop their friendship, then one day as they go to powder their noses in their high school bathroom gunfire is heard and their lives are changed forever. Flash forward 15 years later, where we meet a grown up Diana (Uma Thurman), who is an art teacher, married to a professor and has a spunky young daughter. As the anniversary of the massacre at her high school moves closer, the haunting of that day and the decision made become more draining and grief-stricken. The film then cuts back and forth from the teenage Diana to the adult, with the days leading up to the tragedy being present as well as Diana inner-struggle with the tragedy itself.
Director Vadim Perelman has a talent for capturing heartbreaking emotions and characteristics in a painful light. This is the strength of this film, in which the feelings for the characters are prevalent, despite the younger Diana divulging more than the adult character. The film also moves swiftly from scene to scene, even though the flashbacks to the gunman in the bathroom with the two teenagers is repeated the same at least three times, though nothing technical changes, just that the audience is given a little more of what happened each time.
The Life Before Her Eyes was adapted by Emil Stern from Laura Kasischke’s novel, which was written in 2002. As mentioned before, the final spin of the film hurts it. Some may think that the audience is cheated as to what occurs, but it more or less a choice that works better in a novel than on the screen. It is difficult to criticize or divulge the choice without spoiling the film, which is not the intention of these statements. One other issue with the script is that very early on in the film, Diana tells Maureen that the gunman actually told her about his plan of the massacre earlier, but thought that he was kidding. This notion is ignored after it is stated. It perhaps would have given more insight if a scene would have been shown exploring this conversation. Why even put this line in the film, if it is not going to ever be touched on later?
Evan Rachel Wood is a rising talent, and she continues to show nice range in her role as the younger Diana. However, she is now an adult, so she needs to start picking some adult roles rather than all the teenage ones. Even though she looks nothing like Wood, Uma Thurman is solid as usual as the adult version of the character. The surprise of the cast is Susan Sarandon’s beautiful daughter Eva Amurri’s performance as Diana’s best friend Maureen. Amurri shows a patient grace as an actress, which is a quality that her mother has mastered over the years. One hopes she will get more roles in the future.
The Life Before Her Eyes is a sad and emotionally tormenting film that is heartfelt. However, the rug is pulled out from under you during its final few minutes, which leaves the film as being disappointing.
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The Life Before Her Eyes (2008) review written by: Bailey Henderson
11th October, 2008 
