It sounds like Love Story, but with an intriguing twist. 23-year-old wife and mom Sarah Polley has spent her entire life sacrificing for others and living on the economic fringe; when she discovers she has only a few months to live, she resolves to keep the news secret. In her remaining time, she plots a course for various unfinished plans and deferred dreams: write a journal, leave future messages for her kids, make a stranger (Mark Ruffalo) fall in love with her. Obviously, the danger of sentimentality lurks in director Isabel Coixet's concept, and the film does have a few soggy moments. Some critics lost patience with the main character's seeming selfishness (a good post-movie conversation starter). Yet there is something powerful in her insistence on claiming a small piece of existence exclusively for herself. Polley (Guinevere) gives a typically honest performance, with fine support by Scott Speedman and Deborah Harry. --Robert Horton
Sarah Polley stars as Ann, a young wife and mother who's recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. After vowing to keep her terrible news a secret, Ann begins living with an intensity she never thought possible. With senses heightened and passions rekindled, she quickly begins putting her life in order. Gripping, joyful and sensitive, My Life Without Me is a touching tale for today that challenges us to live as if there were no tomorrow. Sarah Polley (eXistenZ, Sweet Hereafter, Go, Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me, In the Cut),Scott Speedman (Underworld, TVs Felicity),Deborah Harry (Spun, Blonde).
