Synopsis
At the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister, asking him to look after his eleven-year-old niece, Sophia, for a few hours.
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Cast
- Shawn ChristensenRichie
- Fatima PtacekSophia
- Emmy RossumMaggie
- Paul WesleyGideon
- Ron PerlmanBill
- Richard SchiffBruce
Recommendations
- 88
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Ptacek, as she was in the short, makes a great foil. And the addition of Rossum and Perlman to the cast adds pathos and paranoia, guilt and menace. - 67
IndieWire
Before I Disappear features several moments of genuine emotion in an otherwise underwhelming plot involving the main character coming out of his shell. It's a heartfelt journey, but we've seen it before, without the excess distractions. - 63
Slant Magazine
Even at its most compelling, it remains inconsistent and superfluous, a lesson that sometimes a movie can feel more fully formed in 19 minutes rather than 90. - 58
The A.V. Club
The result is predictably, frustratingly bloated and meandering, even as the short’s charms remain largely intact. - 58
The Playlist
Isn't a bad freshman effort, but it doesn't offer anything to set it apart from dozens of other indie dramedies. - 50
The Dissolve
The fundamental predictability of Before I Disappear’s main plot is just one of the missteps that betray Christensen’s inexperience. - 40
The Hollywood Reporter
With nary a likable character in sight until the late arrival of some unearned emotion in the closing scenes, this is a posey, abrasive drama, though one that's stylishly made and acted with more conviction than the script merits. - 40
Variety
Piling on the misery-laden subplots in scene after angry, overamped scene, Before I Disappear is the sort of movie that can’t stop reminding you how cruel the world is and how messed up its people are, to the point where its bludgeoning cynicism feels no more authentic or lived-in than the glimmer of hope that suddenly breaks on the horizon.
