Welcome back to Movie Recaps Today I will show you a drama, mystery, thriller film from
2014, titled Before I go to sleep.
Spoilers ahead!
Watch out and take care.
Christine wakes up in bed next to someone.
She gets up and grabs some clothes, then walks into the bathroom.
One of the bathroom walls is covered in photographs of her and the man.
She sees the weeding band on her hand, then walks outside.
Ben is waiting for her on the bed.
He tells her that they got married 14 years ago and that she's 40 years old.
As she gets dressed, he explains that she had a car accident 14 years ago, because of
which she gained some injuries which made it impossible for her to remember everything.
She stores up information for a day, then when she goes to bed it all disappears and
when she wakes up she thinks she's in her twenties.
He asks her to trust him, but she's scared.
While making breakfast, he keeps telling her about their life together and their wedding.
Before he leaves for work, Ben shows her a list of things she might need and where to
find them.
She sees a note which says that she needs to pack a bag.
Ben tells her that he'll be taking her away for their anniversary.
Christine is alone, trying to wrap her head around everything when the telephone rings.
The voice on the other side is Doctor Nasch, who's been working with her on getting her
memory restored.
He tells her that Ben might not know about her seeing a doctor.
Then, he tells her to go look for a shoebox in the back of her closet.
Christine opens the box and finds a camera inside.
Nasch tells her to switch it on.
A recording of her plays, where she talks about the problem with her memory.
Two weeks earlier, Christine is in a car with Dr. Nasch, who admits that their professional
relationship is a little bit out of the ordinary - with him picking her up from home and seeing
her without her husbands knowledge.
Christine is scared and confused.
They drive into a parking lot and he tells her how he found her 6 months before.
He explains that he's a neuropsychologist and that he's preparing a paper on the type
of amnesia she has, so he was willing to do the work for free.
As they start walking to his office, Doctor Nasch tells her that even though she didn't
remember who he was when he called the next day, she still agreed to work with him.
Christine has mentioned working with a psychologist to her husband, but he was adamantly against
it because she had therapy in the past and it had only upset her.
In his office, he gives her the camera and tells her to keep a visual diary.
Doctor Nasch tells her that her injuries were sustained in a vicious attack 10 years before.
They came from repeated blows to the head.
She's confused because Ben had told her another story.
The doctor shows her news articles about the attack and she wonders why someone would try
to kill her.
He explains that no one really knows part from her.
As they leave, he tells her not to tell Ben about the camera so she doesn't feel constrained
to share her thoughts and feelings.
He tells her where to hide it and that he'll call her in the morning to remind her.
She agrees to the plan.
That night, while Ben prepares cocoa for them, Christine goes to the bathroom to record the
first entry in her video diary.
She explains about her memory and when she hears Ben coming up, she scrambles to hide
the camera and goes to bed, pretending she's already asleep.
Christine wakes up the next morning next to Ben.
He pretends that he's still asleep.
They have the same conversation about her memory, their life and her life.
She doesn't understand what she does all day and looks disappointed.
Later, she's in the car with the doctor again, watching the video.
Christine says that without the recordings she would believe everything that Ben tells
her, like the car accident.
She wonders what else he lies to her about.
Doctor Nasch says that he can't risk calling her on the house phone.
Christine tells him that she doesn't want to be afraid all the time and asks if the
treatment he's planning for her will work.
Doctor Nasch explains that in rare cases, going back to the scene of the attack helps
kick off the memory, but his reason behind going there is building trust with her.
When they arrive at the industrial complex they meet with the caretaker.
He takes them to the place where he found her and tells them that she was naked, with
only a bed sheet around her and that she was covered in blood.
She couldn't remember anything even then.
Back in the car, she asks Nasch what she was doing by the airport.
He tells her that there are a lot of hotels in the area and suggests that she might have
been having an affair.
The medical report indicated recent intercourse.
She asks him if she was raped, but the doctor tells her that the report has suggested otherwise.
Christine can't believe she could be a cheater.
Later, she's in her bathroom saying that she needs to remember what happened, no matter
what she has done.
She hears the sounds of children playing and goes to check, but there's no one outside.
That night, she walks in to take a shower, when Ben joins her and begins kissing her.
As they begin making love, she has a memory of someone with a scar on his jaw.
They fall asleep together and Christine has a dream about a hotel room and her attack.
The next day, tests are being performed on Christine by doctor Nasch.
He shows her pictures that she needs to identify.
She looks at the pictures and gets upset so she rings the panic button in the MRI.
Later, they talk in a waiting room and he tells her that some of the pictures were random
and others were in her file.
The photo he shows her had produced a distinct reaction in her brain.
Christine doesn’t know who the woman in the photo is, even with the name Claire written
on it.
While having dinner with Ben that night, she asks him if about Claire.
Ben says that he doesn't know her, then asks why Christine is brining it up.
When she tells him that she had a memory, he gets invested in the amount she remembers.
She mentions a few things, mostly from the photo, and he tells her that it wasn't the
first time she had remembered Claire.
Ben says that they were friends once, but that she moved away and that it doesn't matter
anymore.
Christine insists that it does matter.
Ben brings a box of photos he keeps in his study.
They are of her and Claire.
She asks why he hides them from her and Ben explains that he does that to protect her
from the fact that her friend couldn't handle her situation.
Christine asks him how she could trust him if he hides things from her, but Ben tells
her that he can't always handle dealing with everything.
Later, she makes a new recording saying that Ben is hiding Claire from her and that she
can't trust him.
After that, he sees that she has taped the photos of Claire in the bathroom.
Doctor Nasch calls Christine and explains everything to her all over again.
She watches the recording from the previous day, the one saying not to trust Ben.
Then she zooms in, seeing that the photos that were there the previous day are gone
now.
She gets angry and starts looking through Ben's study to find something.
She finds a key which takes her to the photos.
Flipping through them she has a memory about Claire and her telling her that she's pregnant.
She rushes to check the pictures in the bathroom and the pictures in the albums, but there
is no evidence of a child she might have had.
Christine checks her stomach and sees her stretch marks, the remembers a conversation
with her son.
She calls Ben to ask about their child and he comes home instantly.
Christine is upset and wants to know where their child is.
Ben embraces her and tells her that their son died.
Once inside, he tells her that the child died from meningitis before his ninth birthday.
He gets another box that he's hiding from her so that she doesn't stumble upon them
by herself and shows her a photo of their son Adam as a baby.
Christine cries, but she doesn't remember him as she goes through the photos.
She sees his birth certificate and a note in his handwriting.
Ben takes back the photos and later Christine makes another video in which she says that
while the grief might not be new for Ben, it is for her.
And it will be new every other day for the rest of her life.
Christine has another nightmare about the man with the scar and her attack.
She wakes up terrified, then watches her recordings about Adam and cries.
Christine begins taking apart the wall of photos in the bathroom.
When she talks to Nasch again she asks if he knew about her son and he tells her that
they have spoken about him before.
She has begun thinking that maybe it's better if she doesn't learn about everything.
Christine asks the doctor if they can just sit there for a while, then asks if she should
tell Ben about the therapy.
That night, her and Ben talk about Adam again.
She asks if she was a good mother before the accident.
Ben says that she loved him very much and she has a memory about him for a moment.
Christine says that she understands how difficult it must be for Ben to go though all of it
over and over, but tells him not to hide her son from her again.
He apologizes to her.
That night Christine has another nightmare.
She's in a hotel and she can see her son there.
She finds a note that has the name Mike on it and then remembers the man with the scar
again.
Lastly, she remembers parts of the attack.
Christine awakens and forgets everything again.
Christine is in the car with Doctor Nasch going somewhere.
When they stop she tells him the name Mike, saying that he's the man that hurt her.
The doctor comforts her and leans in to kiss her when she sees that his name is Mike.
She remembers him as striking her in the hotel room so she runs from the car.
He gets a syringe from his trunk and runs after her on the long pier, eventually catching
up to her.
Later, Christine is on her couch, when her phone rings.
She answers the call from Doctor Nasch and he explains that he gave her a sedative to
calm her, not put her to sleep.
She remembers.
He tells her that she was confused and suffering from fabulation about him, placing all her
fears and suspicions on him.
Before he hangs up, he says that he had found out something about Ben that he will have
to explain to her in person.
Ben arrives at the house and they have dinner together.
He asks her who she was talking to on the phone when he tried to call her and she lies
saying she was calling him.
The next day, Christine is listening to Dr. Nasch explain how vulnerable patients like
her can develop feelings for their psychiatrists.
What is less common is for the psychiatrists to develop feelings for their patients.
He says that's unprofessional.
She thinks that he's her only hope and that they're making progress, when he tells her
that he will refer her to a colleague.
Doctor Nasch thinks that treating her further would be unethical.
But he thinks that her progress is noticeable because she had remembered to watch the recording
even before he had called her that morning.
Next, he tells her that he found out that Ben had her transferred from an asylum to
a nursing home.
The doctor managed to talk to the administrator who told him that her friend Claire had been
trying to get in touch with her.
He gives her Clair's number.
The administrator also told Nasch that Ben had divorced her 4 years prior.
Later, Christine calls Claire and leaves her a message saying that she really needs to
talk to her.
She goes to see Ben at his work.
When she asks if they're divorced, he gets angry, but she pushes for the truth.
Ben tells her that it's because of the death of their son.
First he walked away from her, but he had come back and he will never leave her again.
That same day, Claire calls Christine back.
She remembers bits and pieces about her, as Claire tells her that she had kept ringing
the nursing home where Christine was placed.
She tells her that she misses her and want to see her.
They arrange a meeting at an observatory in an hour.
Christine goes to see Claire and waits for her on a bench.
When, Claire shows up, Christine remembers her.
They've missed each other very much.
Christine asks Claire if she was a good mother and she replies that she was great.
Ben was also a good father.
She asks her friend who did that to her.
They grab a drink and Claire tells her that she was probably having an affair.
She confessed it to her eventually, but never gave her any details about the man.
Claire apologizes to her for telling Ben, but she had to do it since she had already
told the police.
Christine thinks that that's the reason why Ben never talks to her about anything, including
her.
Claire tells her that after her accident she tried to help Ben out and the two of them
spent a lot of time together, eventually sleeping together.
She decided to stay away from them because of that.
Before Christine leaves, she gives her a note that Ben left for her with Claire if she was
ever good enough to read and understand it.
The letter explains the reasons why he left her.
In it Ben says that the main reason was the happiness and wellbeing of their son, who
couldn't bare seeing her like that anymore.
Christine finishes the letter as Ben arrives at the house.
She records a video in which she is talking to Ben, telling him that by the time he sees
the video he will know everything, including that the only thing she feels for him is love.
Later, Christine shows Ben the video she recorded for him and starts telling him about everything
that has been happening in the previous weeks.
She tells him about Doctor Nasch and he's angry that she kept that from him.
When she tells him that she forgives him and that she loves him, he hits her.
Christine calls Claire and tells her what has happened with Ben.
She says that she'll call him and call Christine right back.
In the meantime, she records a video in which she says that he hit her.
Claire calls her back and tells her that Ben has been living alone and hasn't seen her
in 4 years.
She asks her to describe Ben to her.
Their descriptions don't match.
Claire tells her that Ben has a scar on the side of his face and Christine has a flashback.
The Ben she knows comes back and she runs to the bathroom to check the photos if he
has a scar.
When she doesn't see one, Claire tells her that the man she's living with is not Ben.
Suddenly, Christine notices that all of the photographs on the wall are doctored.
She begins to remember the attack and begs Claire to help her, but she can't remember
her address.
Clare tells her to finds out, as Ben tries to come inside.
She has another flashback to the attack, then opens the door.
Ben isn't there.
Christine walks down the stairs and tries to walk out of the main entrance, only to
find it locked.
She finds the key to the back door and exits the house, when Ben suddenly grabs her.
Christine wakes up the following morning in her bed with Ben.
She walks inside the bathroom and sees the photos, then walks out to find him sitting
on the bed telling her who he is.
When he leaves, the doctor calls her and tells her to find the camera.
She only sees the recording where she says that she loves Ben.
After that she notices the bruise on her cheek.
The phone rings and it's Ben this time, asking if everything is ok.
He has her cell phone which Claire is trying to reach.
Ben reminds her to pack for their anniversary.
She tells him that she loves him.
Later, Nasch is trying to phone Christine, when he gets called to the main reception.
Ben runs into him and introduces himself.
Nasch asks how Christine is and Ben tells him to stay away from her.
That night, Ben and Christine take a drive down to a hotel near the airport.
She asks if it's really their anniversary and he tells her that it's not their wedding
anniversary, but one of a different kind.
Christine doesn't understand why he brought her there.
He gives her a glass of champagne and tells her that he wants her to remember her attack.
Suddenly, she remembers that he is actually Mike.
Christine asks where Ben is and Mike tells her that her husband left her, when he stayed.
He took her out of the nursing home with fake documents, with the intention to take care
of her.
But now he's tired of lying and wants her to remember everything.
Christine remembers the day of the attack and him threatening her that he'll call her
husband, then hitting her.
She realizes that he was the one that attacked her.
He tells her that he hates himself for what happened and begs her not to leave.
Christine is scared because she remembers details about the night when he attacked her.
Mike keeps begging her not to leave, but then steps aside to see if she will and when she
does he hits her again.
He tells her that they will either leave together or they won't leave at all.
Then, he begins to delete all of her recordings from the camera and tells her that she's free.
Mike tells her to kiss him and she does it out of fear.
He tells her that she has to forget Ben and Adam because they have forgotten her.
Christine realizes that Adam isn't dead and he starts beating her up again.
She fights back, but he overpowers her and begins to strangle her.
Christine stabs him and tries to escape, though he just grabs her again.
Eventually she incapacitates him and escapes the room, then activates the fire alarm.
Ambulances and the police have circled the hotel.
Christine is at the back of an ambulance, recording a new video explaining what happened
to her.
Later, Dr. Nasch walks into her hospital room and wakes her up telling her who he is.
He tells her that he is there as her friend and not her doctor.
Because she needs someone to take care of her, Claire will pick her up and take her
home with her.
He asks her if she remembers Clair.
Christine says that she does.
Nasch continues talking to her, saying that Mike will be in prison for a long time for
what he did to her.
Then, he tells her that he has a visitor for her that might become the breakthrough in
her treatment.
Nasch turns around and Ben, her real ex-husband is at he door.
Doctor Nasch lets him inside the room.
He approaches her and tells her that he's her Ben, that he never would have stayed away
if he knew she was in danger.
He sits down and tells her about Adam.
Ben says that both of them love her very much.
He goes out to get Adam.
The boy walks in and approaches his mother.
He introduces himself to her and she starts remembering something that she used to say
to him when he was little.
Christine remembers him finally.
They embrace as she says that he's her Adam.