Rating: 
Summary: You know what's coming but the ride is worth it......
Review: Right off the title tells you it's probably a tear-jerker but relax, you have nothing to fear because it isn't one of those smaltzy ones that torture the viewer with endless Kleenex moments. I was impressed with the writer and director (Isabel Coixet - although, I'm sure it didn't hurt to have Pedro Almodóvar producing) who gave us wonderful three dimensional characters instead of the usual stereotypes and while clearly using sentimentality when dealing with the subject of a very young woman facing death, never went overboard. Scenes involving the main characters down to minor ones, like the nurses, were both well acted and scripted - a rare and appreciated combo! Social commentary abounds but is subtle enough not to be preachy. I only had one problem - I thought one of the items on her "10 Things To Do Before I Die" list was just plain cruel (have someone fall in love with me) given her circumstances but as it's a personal view, no points were deducted from this beautiful piece of film making. There were so many thought provoking moments in this movie that when I finished watching it I immediately wanted to talk about it - after I ran and gave everyone I know, not to mention the ground, a big sloppy kiss - and films don't get much better than that in my book.
Rating:
Summary: Real Life
Review: Sarah Polley ("Exotica", "Go") plays Anne, a 23 year old, poor rural housewife with two young daughters. She has a completely unselfish manner, until she discovers she has only a few months to live. Anne decides to keep this a secret from everyone, including her husband played by Scott Speedman ("Underworld", "Duets") and her long suffering Mom played by Deborah Harry. Drafting a note, Anne lists ten things she is determined to do before she dies. These include telling her daughters she loves them everyday, leaving cassettes for both daughters birthdays until they are eighteen and also having sex with one other man. That man is well played by Mark Ruffalo ("In The Cut', "The Last Castle") who falls hopelessly in love with Anne. The story is simple, yet the acting is true and lacks any soppiness. It almost feels like everyone is holding back their feelings and that makes for good tension. There are many surprises for all before the end of the film and although it may not be an upbeat tale, it satisfies without leaving the viewer cheapened - only somewhat enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: A Fiercely Intelligent Meditation On The Unthinkable
Review: Sarah Polley. Mark Ruffalo. Here we have two of the most talented, interesting actors at work in film today. In My Life Without Me they have a script and a director and each other to stretch with and the results are provocative and moving. From the first few moments of this artfully photographed archive of the last days of a life, I knew I was in for a treat. But nothing can prepare you for the powerful treatment of loss and grief which Polley's seemingly effortless portrayal of a doomed twenty-three year-old mother of two provides. There are actors who compel empathy in their audience simply by being so deeply immersed in character that states of emotional upheaval are communicated as if by telepathy. Polley has the gift. Whatever part she takes on she inhabits completely. Brilliant acting aside, I thought the narrative structure of My Life Without Me was quirky, full of surprise and never maudlin. Polley comments at one point in an unusually insightful voiceover about her fate that 'no one thinks about death in a supermarket.' This film exists precisely for those who would like nothing better than to spend a few hours thinking about the inevitable transition into oblivion. And about the legacy one would like to leave behind for those whom we love.
Rating:
Summary: All I have to say is WOW...
Review: Sometimes I think people feel that they need to give a lengthy play by play about the movie including all the technical aspects of the film in their review. But, if you don't want to read about the entire movie before you watch it then this is for you. The movie was simply amazing. It was full of love, humor, cold harsh reality, and sadness. It conveys some seriously thought provoking messages and I'm always disappointed that great meaningful movies such as this one never make it to the masses and only are made known by our word of mouth. So spread the word, give it a shot, because if you enjoy movies, you'll love My Life Without Me.
Rating: 
Summary: Ramona the great
Review: The ramona show jeez we all watched it, and this proud sister is her. This movie is powerfull and dreamy. As a DRAMA JUNKIE this film delevers all the tear jerking goodies, but it also has some cutting edge postive women in film stuff, and for once some proper love for the little sweeties(children). There is however some odd bulemia references. Hmmmmmmmmmmm over all much to cry about, high praise for a drama.
Rating:
Summary: Sad, sweet, sentimental and real
Review: This 2003 film is a sad and sweet story of a young woman who has just two months to live. Sarah Polley is wonderful in this role and, in spite of a somewhat sentimental story, makes her character believable and real. She's only 23 years old, lives in a trailer with her husband and two young daughters, and works nights cleaning at the local university. Their marriage is happy, the children adorable. The doctor who gives her the news, played by Julian Richings has one of the most memorable and homely faces I have ever seen. He, himself, is saddened and finds it hard to look her straight in the eye. He alone keeps her secret and agrees to hold on to some tapes she makes to be given to her loved ones after she dies. Her "to do" list is unique. Even though she loves her husband, she wants to know what it would be like to sleep with another man and have him fall in love with her. She does that with Mark Ruffalo, a gentle and lonely man she meets in a laundromat. She also goes to visit her father who is in jail and they have a poignant scene together. Deborah Harry plays her bitter mother who's lived a life of disappointments but loves her daughter and grandchildren. One of the beauties of the story is that this young woman manages to tie up all the details of her young life in a practical, efficient way - even going so far as to find a future wife for her husband. Her choices are hers alone and she handles them with courage. Basically, the story is a soap opera and usually I don't like those kind of films. But this film was done so well that I relaxed, got into it and found myself appreciating my own life even more. This is not a perfect film and it's not for everybody. But I liked it. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: You can't help but like it
Review: This film has the most morose premise imaginable - the heroine, Ann (Sarah Polley), is informed by a stiff-lipped doctor she has just a couple of months to live and hence the rest of the story is based around how she deals with this stark reality.
Ann however does not even break down in front of the barely empathic GP, she somehow holds it together and begins her list of things to do before she dies. Her resilience is almost unbelievable, in fact many would question whether such a reaction to imminent death would be possible in real life. However in the context of this film it works because Sarah Polleys performance is that good that she makes palpable what would otherwise be ludicrous fantasy, such as her ability to keep the horrible fact she has advanced cancer from everyone she knows while calmly pursuing her final list of goals.
In fact the whole cast is superb. Her affair with a man she meets in a laundromat (Mark Ruffalo) is very brief however entails some of the most powerful drama I have seen in a film. Thankfully the film does not depict her very last days as it would be too much for the viewer to take, who like me will be completely in awe of Ann or perhaps repulsed by the selfishness of her affair and the fact that she hides the truth from those she loves. Instead of feeling drained by the emotional trauma that Ann endures the film turns out to be one of the most heart-warming ever.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting and poignant script : a real artistic work !
Review: This film is absolutely absorbing and even depressive .
Twenty three years old is an age in which you are so far to think about the death that it sounds less than a sinister nightmare to consider the mere possibility to leave this world in the golden age of the life .
And despite her life is a real tragedy by every corner you examine it , she is married with a man good for nothing , a father in prison , a mother profoundly disturbed by past ghosts. she is always a step ahead and makes of this cruel statement: two months of life the real opportunity of making all what she wanted to do in her entire life .
To consider all these projects in such brief period will make us think about those minuscles concerns which we must face everyday .
The script was filmed with obvious low budget : you miss this detail because pitifully the photograph is very discrete .
The drama lives in the most intimate universe and you can feel this film overslow paced but it is just an illiusion .
If you really engage with this film you will never experience this detail.
A mature work and besides a magnificent performance of this young and promising actress : Sarah Poley a future first actress : It is just a question of time .
Rating: 
Summary: What a load of rubbish
Review: This has to be one of the worst films I have ever seen, aside from the Royal Tenenbaums maybe
Rating:
Summary: Practical pre-death arrangements
Review: This IS a sad movie but a lot less depressing then you expect. Less, but still...heartbreaking. The movie has a very strong life-force atmosphere that helps you end the movie without feeling crushed.
The breaking of your heart does not come due to kitschy scenes but more because of the dreadful situation and the handling of it all (starting from the scene showing the "moment of learning the truth" which is the nightmare of any person I know).
The hardest scene for me was when Ann sits in the car recording messages for her daughters birthdays. She is still very alive but you already feel the hugh absence which is always going to be felt. The heroine is very practical and this makes the movie bearable, as if death is an issue that should be dealt with practically: it's going to arrive, and we better leave everything in order.
Breaking down is also a privilige. You can afford to break down only if there is somone to pick you up. Here the breaking down will be useless, and only leave bad memories. This is how Ann feels and she therefore does not let herself break down. I can also guess that "dying" is Ann's very rare "private" thing, a space she allows to be only her own. She will do what she pleases with her "death knowledge" and this is probably the first thing she has done for herself, which also gives her some sense of control of the situation.
A reason for sorrow are the very modest wishes Ann states and desires to accomplish before she dies. The list is so modest one is sad only to see it ---nothing of the sort of things you would imagine such as travel around the world...etc. Ann knows what she can desire. But this is exactly the power of this movie and the fact that it does not remain only in the realm of someone preparing to death but sort of gives a broader perspective of life. Ann is not a bitter person and does not blame other people, but she does have her regrets.
Sarah Polley is an amazing acress and manages to deliver her difficult role without loosing her credibility.
My only criticism of this movie belongs to the "luck" that suddenly arrives in Ann's life in the form of three very important characters who turn out to be, each and every one of them - just "the right person in the right time". These three people are just so right it seems a little too much...untrue. Ann, the new neighbor is just the perfect stepmother and beyond. She is someone who every mother would want for her children. Another luck is in the form of having discovered in such an early stage of her relationship with our heroine, that she is indeed the right person. The lover - another perfect person coming just at the right moment and doing exactly what he has to do. A third person is the strange, understanding doctor who is exactly what Ann needs at this point in her life.
I wonder if you can call meeting these people luck, but it sure seemed to help Ann to "die in peace". To my regret this "luck" does not always arrive in the right time for most people whose death is far from dignified. This issue seemed to do some harm to the reality and clarity of the movie. -
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