Oooops, I did it again; finding a little movie that could. This time with a Spanish writer/director (Isabel Coixet,) an American story and a Vancouver, BC, setting. How international can you get without subtitles? The inspiration for this film comes from a short story by Nanci Kincaid, Pretending the Bed is a Raft. And like all my favorite little films My Life Without Me makes me ask myself, "What would I do?"Ann (a subtle Sarah Polley) is a young mother of two, struggling to make ends meet with a sweet but rarely employed husband (Scott Speedman,) a deeply disappointed mother (Deborah Harry) and little time for introspection. But when a fainting spell sends her to the hospital, her whole perspective changes as she learns that she has only weeks to live. Ann makes the novel decision to tell no one of her diagnosis, but rather to live each day of her life to the fullest. Her decision to go it alone frees her to take every opportunity, including a handsome stranger (Mark Ruffalo,) as a lease on life.
What would you do? This quiet little movie might hang with you for days, as Coixet tells the story with a deft hand - and Polley shines. In the end, this is hardly a tragedy but rather, a parable. See the nicely turned website here.
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