My Life Without Me (2003)

Director:

Isabel Coixet

Writers:

Isabel Coixet (writer)
Nanci Kincaid (book)

Release Date:

7 March 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A young woman conceals the fact of her terminal cancer to live her life with a passion she never had before.

Plot Keywords:

Cancer | Doctor | Death | Birthday | Neighbor

Awards:

16 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Sarah Polley	...	Ann
Amanda Plummer	...	Laurie
Scott Speedman	...	Don
Leonor Watling	...	Ann, the Neighbor
Deborah Harry	...	Ann's Mother
Maria de Medeiros	...	The Hairdresser
Mark Ruffalo	...	Lee
Julian Richings	...	Dr. Thompson
Kenya Jo Kennedy	...	Patsy
Jessica Amlee	...	Penny
Esther García
Camille Martinez		(as Camille Martínez)
María Cami
Deanne Henry	...	Waitress
Gillian Barber	...	Nurse #1

Also Known As:

Ma vie sans moi (Canada: French title)
Mi vida sin mí (Spain)
Mein Leben ohne mich (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Mi vida sin mí (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) [es]
Az élet nélkülem (Hungary) [hu]
Elämäni ilman minua (Finland) [fi]
La mia vita senza me (Italy) [it]
Ma vie sans moi (France) [fr]
Minha Vida Sem Mim (Brazil) [pt]
Mitt liv utan mig (Sweden) [sv]
Moje zycie beze mnie (Poland) [pl]
Zoi horis emena (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

106 min | Argentina:107 min

Country:

Spain | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | South Korea:15 | USA:R | Germany:6 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Norway:A | UK:15

Filming Locations:

New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

El Deseo S.A.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Lee and Ann are at Lee's house and Lee reads Ann a passage from a book, Ann throws away the book irritated after a few sentences. In the next shot, the floor where the book should have ended up is empty.

Quotes:

[Ann writes in journal]
Ann: THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE.
Ann: 1. Tell my daughters I love them several times.
Ann: 2. Find Don a new wife who the girls like.
Ann: 3. Record birthday messages for the girls for every year until they're 18.
Ann: 4. Go to Whalebay Beach together and have a big picnic.
Ann: 5. Smoke and drink as much as I want.
Ann: 6. Say what I'm thinking.
Ann: 7. Make love with other men to see what it's like.
Ann: 8. Make someone fall in love with me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

Baby Don't Forget My Number

"Life" sentence: Polley is exquisitely perfect

MY LIFE WITHOUT ME (2003) ***1/2 Sarah Polley, Mark Ruffalo, Scott Speedman, Deborah Harry, Amanda Plummer, Leonor Watling, Julian Richings, Maria de Medeiros, Jessica Amlee, Kenya Jo Kennedy, Alfred Molina. Polley gives a remarkable performance as a young wife and mother who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and with the few precious months left to her own devices she decides not to tell anyone but instead attempts to live life by her own guidelines including taking a lover (Ruffalo in a genial turn) and setting her family up with a new mother figure in the form of new next door neighbor Watling (who gives a heartrending speech about her occupation as a nurse) and in the process realizing just how important it is to live life each day as if it were indeed your last. Director Isabel Coixet adapts Nanci Kincaid's short story 'Pretending the Bed is a Raft' with clear-eyed sharpness allowing the ultimate heartbreak to occur off-screen and instead focusing on the funny and poignant pangs her protagonist silently endures. A real gem that reminded me of the '70s golden age of indies.