Opening with several customers in a neighborhood cafe being shot when robbers from a casino heist burst through and exchange gunfire, The Life Before This flashes back to earlier in the day to show the victims living their disparate lives, making the choices that will lead to their fateful encounter. Among them are the very capable Sarah Polley as a young woman afraid of romantic commitment, Catherine O'Hara as a neurotic single person arranging a blind date, and Stephen Rea as a melancholy exterminator seeking escape. Set in Toronto, the film touches on the nature of fate, destiny, and coincidence as a dream-like air of tragedy permeates the proceedings. The question of who lives or dies when these variously troubled souls converge makes for mildly interesting, but hardly profound, viewing. Optional. (T. Rich)
The Life Before This
First Look, 92 min., R, VHS: $89.95 Vol. 15, Issue 6
The Life Before This
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: