A few minutes into My Life Without Me audience members may get the sense that something is a bit unusual. With its gloomy setting, odd inflections in the actors’ voices, and a vaguely unsettling atmosphere, the movie seems to be taking place in some sort of alternate universe. Gradually, it all begins to make sense: It’s Canadian.
Once viewers get over the fact that every other sentence is punctuated by “eh?” writer-director Isabel Coixet’s first English-language film is inspiring and provocative, not to mention tear-inducing.
My Life Without Me is based around an intriguing premise: If you knew you had only a short time left to live, how would you spend your last days on earth? Ann, 23 years old, played by Sarah Polley, lives a mundane life in the Vancouver suburbs with her husband Don, and two young daughters. Living in a trailer park in her mother’s backyard, she struggles to make ends meet as a university janitor while Don floats between jobs. She showers her daughters with affection, but her relationship with her own parents is strained: her father is in prison and her mother, played by Blondie’s Deborah Harry, is jaded and angry at the world.
Ann’s life takes an abrupt turn early in the film when her doctor informs her that she has terminal cancer and only two months to live. The rest of the movie chronicles Ann’s endeavors and realizations in her final two months as she prepares for the lives of her family and friends to continue without her.
This sounds like it contains all the ingredients of a Lifetime original: a young woman realizes how much beauty exists in the world despite her terminal illness. A weepy husband bids his wife farewell as she lies on her deathbed. Wrong. Of course a movie dealing with such weighty subject matter has a high propensity for cheesiness, but just when viewers start to think the film may be taking itself too seriously, the script catches itself with a bit of light-hearted dialogue or a ballet-fantasy sequence in the grocery store.
The best thing about this movie is a key twist in the plot: Ann chooses not to tell anyone about her illness. Her impending death is kept secret from her loved ones up until the very end. This plot device spares the audience maudlin gushiness and instead lets them follow Ann around as she prepares to die, the sole party privy to her secret.
Upon learning of her illness, Ann immediately makes a list of things to do before she dies. They range from momentous (“Visit dad in prison”) to superficial (“Do something new with my hair”) to engrossingly indulgent (“Make someone fall in love with me”). It’s a pleasure to watch as Ann stoically accomplishes these and many more, provoking laughter, reflection and lots of crying.
Not only is the film’s premise interesting, but its execution is skilled. Polley, who lost her own mother to cancer at age 11, gives an engaging performance, subtly communicating a range of emotions. Her facial expressions alone make it difficult to take one’s eyes off her for even a second.
The rest of the film is competently acted; the other actors seem to have an understanding that they are merely staging a background for Polley to exhibit her talent. Fans of the new wave group Blondie fans should see this movie if only for a refreshing dose of Deborah Harry, who provokes empathy from the audience as a cynical and hardened older woman. As Don, Scott Speedman showcases his versatility. His role as the dopey, well-intentioned husband and father is a far cry from the Felicity heartthrob for which he is best known.
Though the film can be overly sentimental at times, its commentary on family, romance and mortality is as shrewd as it is poignant, and will keep audience members involved. Polley’s forceful performance is likely to trigger lots of eye-watering, as well as admiration for the young actress. My Life Without Me may be worth seeing solely for the challenge of finding a dry eye among the audience at the movie’s end.
