~~~SPOILER ALERT!~~~
THIS REVIEW IS MEANT TO OFFER CLARITY TO THOSE WHO ARE STILL NOT POSITIVE WHAT THE ENDING MEANT OR THE MOVIE AS A WHOLE~~~~
I am also writing this because I've read many reviews that have it totally wrong. Even several critics have it dead wrong.( I thought they were supposed to be smart and experts at identifying plot?) I wonder if they watched the whole thing or paid attention at all.
Diana(Evan/Uma) is the one who dies there in the bathroom at age 17. Although we don't see Maureen walk out of the bathroom alive, considering that Michael shot himself after shooting Diana, it's safe to assume that Maureen survived the ordeal with no gunshot wounds.
In those fleeting moments in the bathroom, during the stand-off with Michael, Diana sees herself as the survivor. This sets up the scenario for her future "imagined" life as it flashes before her eyes.( actually the whole movie was her flashing back/forward in her mind while in the bathroom. She sees her life leading up to that day and imagines a future as the survivor) Hence the movie's title "The Life Before Her Eyes." The whole part that Uma Thurman(adult Diana) played takes place in 17 yr. old Diana's mind. This future life flashing before her eyes happens in the mere seconds during the time that Maureen tells Michael that if he is going to kill one of them then kill her and spare Diana. Diana imagines a life she would have if he does kill Maureen. As you can see she doesnt imagine it to be a very happy adult life. Cheating hubby, a rebellious/troubled/runaway daughter,( just like her own childhood) As an adult she is also lonely, sad, fearful, and always haunted by her survivor guilt along with her abortion guilt. She is actually very self-loathing in her youth and it's interesting to see that she sees herself unable to be happy at any age, even with a family of her own. In that moment she realizes that Maureen is the better person. Maureen is warm, optimistic, happy-go-lucky,compassionate, protective, generous,a loving best friend, and she was willing to die for Diana. When all these things dawn on Diana she tells the gunman to shoot her.. she urges him frantically ( "shoot me, Michael, do it shoot me" ) so she doesnt lose her courage if he tries to toy with them some more. She sacrifices herself because she thinks Maureen is the one deserving of life and that Maureen has a better chance of happiness in the future.
One thing that threw me was adult Diana's celluar flip phone. Those were not around 15 yrs ago so how could she imagine some future technology? Then,I realized that the whole setting has to take place in current times (or its a huge continuity error on the part of the writers to include cells phones) So when she was 17 yrs old cell phones like that existed. Our minds just imagine the 15 yr difference because the movie tricks us into seeing things that would indicate a difference in decades but there really isnt.
When you watch it a 2nd time or if you paid close attention the 1st viewing you will recall several clues and foreshadowing throughout the movie.
_Some examples_
The child's grave with the name "Emma" Is a hint that she never had a daughter named Emma. She was only pregnant once before her death and she terminated the pregnancy. Her first art lecture as the teacher about "what's real and what's imagined." She lays in bed as an adult and whispers "I don't deserve this." Her husband seeming to not age in the 15 yrs since she first started crushing on him. When running thru the woods after Emma it was really symbolism for her being a lost girl in her own young life. The fact that Uma says she was not a survivor when asked as she enters the school. She puts flowers on her own desk. She thinks she sees the teacher and Micheal in her hallucinations because she died before she knew that they were dead and she still wondered their fate before she died.(the teacher was still alive in the hall and she couldnt be sure if Michael died after he shot her. She doesnt imagine any of the others the same way because she never left that bathroom to know who died and who got out alive. Her mother's scream of terror, she knows her daughter is dead, you could hear in her voice. That wasn't a worried scream it was a scream of grief from a mother who just lost her child. The bracelets, etc. There are many more. See how many more you can pick out. I hope this helped people to better understand this pretty amazing movie.
When watching it the 1st time it seems like a rather mediocre movie. It has great visuals and acting, but just run of the mill story aside from the bathroon scenes..... then you get knocked out of your seat in the last 5 minutes and it becomes a whole different movie with nothing mediocre or simple about it. I really loved this movie once I sat and contemplated it awhile. The intricate ways the story unfolds and the foreshadowing that you barely notice until the twist at the end. This movie is a masterpiece of suprise in the same vein as 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Primal Fear'. It's a thinking person's movie and one that won't soon leave your mind.
THIS REVIEW IS MEANT TO OFFER CLARITY TO THOSE WHO ARE STILL NOT POSITIVE WHAT THE ENDING MEANT OR THE MOVIE AS A WHOLE~~~~
I am also writing this because I've read many reviews that have it totally wrong. Even several critics have it dead wrong.( I thought they were supposed to be smart and experts at identifying plot?) I wonder if they watched the whole thing or paid attention at all.
Diana(Evan/Uma) is the one who dies there in the bathroom at age 17. Although we don't see Maureen walk out of the bathroom alive, considering that Michael shot himself after shooting Diana, it's safe to assume that Maureen survived the ordeal with no gunshot wounds.
In those fleeting moments in the bathroom, during the stand-off with Michael, Diana sees herself as the survivor. This sets up the scenario for her future "imagined" life as it flashes before her eyes.( actually the whole movie was her flashing back/forward in her mind while in the bathroom. She sees her life leading up to that day and imagines a future as the survivor) Hence the movie's title "The Life Before Her Eyes." The whole part that Uma Thurman(adult Diana) played takes place in 17 yr. old Diana's mind. This future life flashing before her eyes happens in the mere seconds during the time that Maureen tells Michael that if he is going to kill one of them then kill her and spare Diana. Diana imagines a life she would have if he does kill Maureen. As you can see she doesnt imagine it to be a very happy adult life. Cheating hubby, a rebellious/troubled/runaway daughter,( just like her own childhood) As an adult she is also lonely, sad, fearful, and always haunted by her survivor guilt along with her abortion guilt. She is actually very self-loathing in her youth and it's interesting to see that she sees herself unable to be happy at any age, even with a family of her own. In that moment she realizes that Maureen is the better person. Maureen is warm, optimistic, happy-go-lucky,compassionate, protective, generous,a loving best friend, and she was willing to die for Diana. When all these things dawn on Diana she tells the gunman to shoot her.. she urges him frantically ( "shoot me, Michael, do it shoot me" ) so she doesnt lose her courage if he tries to toy with them some more. She sacrifices herself because she thinks Maureen is the one deserving of life and that Maureen has a better chance of happiness in the future.
One thing that threw me was adult Diana's celluar flip phone. Those were not around 15 yrs ago so how could she imagine some future technology? Then,I realized that the whole setting has to take place in current times (or its a huge continuity error on the part of the writers to include cells phones) So when she was 17 yrs old cell phones like that existed. Our minds just imagine the 15 yr difference because the movie tricks us into seeing things that would indicate a difference in decades but there really isnt.
When you watch it a 2nd time or if you paid close attention the 1st viewing you will recall several clues and foreshadowing throughout the movie.
_Some examples_
The child's grave with the name "Emma" Is a hint that she never had a daughter named Emma. She was only pregnant once before her death and she terminated the pregnancy. Her first art lecture as the teacher about "what's real and what's imagined." She lays in bed as an adult and whispers "I don't deserve this." Her husband seeming to not age in the 15 yrs since she first started crushing on him. When running thru the woods after Emma it was really symbolism for her being a lost girl in her own young life. The fact that Uma says she was not a survivor when asked as she enters the school. She puts flowers on her own desk. She thinks she sees the teacher and Micheal in her hallucinations because she died before she knew that they were dead and she still wondered their fate before she died.(the teacher was still alive in the hall and she couldnt be sure if Michael died after he shot her. She doesnt imagine any of the others the same way because she never left that bathroom to know who died and who got out alive. Her mother's scream of terror, she knows her daughter is dead, you could hear in her voice. That wasn't a worried scream it was a scream of grief from a mother who just lost her child. The bracelets, etc. There are many more. See how many more you can pick out. I hope this helped people to better understand this pretty amazing movie.
When watching it the 1st time it seems like a rather mediocre movie. It has great visuals and acting, but just run of the mill story aside from the bathroon scenes..... then you get knocked out of your seat in the last 5 minutes and it becomes a whole different movie with nothing mediocre or simple about it. I really loved this movie once I sat and contemplated it awhile. The intricate ways the story unfolds and the foreshadowing that you barely notice until the twist at the end. This movie is a masterpiece of suprise in the same vein as 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Primal Fear'. It's a thinking person's movie and one that won't soon leave your mind.
Top Box Office
- 1.$70.2M
- 2.$35.8M
- 3.$23.9M
- 4.$3.2M
- 5.$3.0M
- 6.$2.8M
- 7.$2.3M
- 8.$2.2M
- 9.$2.2M
- 10.$1.2M