This movie is really good. It ebbs and flows. I laughed so hard at one part my son came in to see what was wrong. Because I couldn't stop laughing. There is a lull toward the end that kinda dragged but once it gets there it all comes together in the end. Highly recommend. Annabella Scioro was FANTASTIC. She was so good the viewer can totally get where she is coming from. Well worth your time to watch.
24 Reviews
Prolific writer.
djmattn24 December 2021
This film came up on my list to view. I have always been a fan of Mr. Schaeffer and enjoyed his earlier work such as Fall, After Fall, Winter ( sequel ) Mind The Gap, and even If Lucy Fell which got terrible reviews but I enjoyed it.
I liked this, a slow burn
kimkirk-3551223 January 2022
I liked it
bchan12186 March 2022
Yes, it was long, if you can call 98 minutes long. It was interesting and different, not a bad person. I loved the worm story. The worm should be nominated for a prestigious award. The father was very good, sorry not to know his name other than, Hey That Guy Who's Good In Everything!
Wormed it's way into my heart
Boristhemoggy27 November 2022
Sciorra plays a woman who displays 'quirks' that may or may not be linked to depression and a host of other illnesses, navigating her senseless life.
Sciorra drives this film intelligently and accurately and I suspect every person will see part f themselves portrayed.
From the aimless shuffling everywhere she goes, to the display of frustration to everyday things, to the despair that brings her almost to the brink of suicide. An act she clearly is not totally invested in.
Her father displays his own problems but perhaps more nuanced as he has found his own ways to deal with them. Ultimately he tries also to find ways to help her too.
It's an exacting and brilliantly written and portrayed example of people who are victim to their own brains and feelings. And yet, it shows their is a way out. I recommend this film to anyone who has, and also those who have never experienced mental illness.
Sciorra drives this film intelligently and accurately and I suspect every person will see part f themselves portrayed.
From the aimless shuffling everywhere she goes, to the display of frustration to everyday things, to the despair that brings her almost to the brink of suicide. An act she clearly is not totally invested in.
Her father displays his own problems but perhaps more nuanced as he has found his own ways to deal with them. Ultimately he tries also to find ways to help her too.
It's an exacting and brilliantly written and portrayed example of people who are victim to their own brains and feelings. And yet, it shows their is a way out. I recommend this film to anyone who has, and also those who have never experienced mental illness.
Wow! What just hit me?
TheDome8110 August 2021
Just an absolute indie gem. The film is slow paced and deliberate. And Annabella Sciorra is nothing short of amazing. Ten years after her last performance, a singer struggles with life itself. She considers suicide but stops herself at the last moment. She has a series of menial jobs, and is dealing with her dad who has amassed a pile of junk he's collected his whole life. It's hard to describe this film, but when it ended, I felt like I was hit with a velvet sledgehammer. One of the best films I've seen in quite a while.
Could have been good
laurabenzel17 January 2022
The storyline sounded interesting and the lead actress was very good but the script was terrible. A lot of the main actress' actions didn't make sense or seem realistic. Who goes into a gym and demands that the one man on a bike moves so you won't have the sun in your eyes? Or hits a kid with a rolled up paper in a restaurant? Even if she is depressed, it just didn't make sense. I couldn't finish it.... I fast forwarded just to see how it ends. Would not recommend.
Sciorra at her very best!
codyclarke22 July 2021
Wonderfully mature and well-acted movie. I've always enjoyed Annabella Sciorra, and I think this is her best performance to date. The material is darkly comedic and quite moving. Definitely an emotional experience-funny in ways I haven't seen many other movies be, and uniquely touching too. Seek it out if you can, I really don't think you'll be disappointed.
Long, boring ride to nowhere
trimblair3 February 2022
Wow. I'll never get that 90 min back. Mediocre movie about a music star who is thinking about ending her life. She has a depressing, old hoarder dad. A depressing gay friend. And nothing else. For 90 minutes. Zzzzzz.
So Much To Relate To
Moviegoer1929 August 2021
Besides the fact that I lived for over two decades in the neighborhood in which this film takes place, there was so much I related to. The life stage in which the protagonist, Samantha, beautifully and realistically played by Annabella Sciorra found herself was so right on. I was a little annoyed when someone told her she was depressed and she denied it as I thought someone "like her" i.e., artist, New York sophisticated, etc., would know she was depressed, or would admit to it, anyway. But, OK, maybe she wasn't so savvy...? Or was just too depressed to engage?
But she did embody so much of what I know to be a depressed artist, hell, a depressed person, at a stage in life considering where do I go from here, if anywhere? Maybe I should just pack it in. But she did find reasons to live, related to all she thought she'd given up and though it was predictable, so what? Who doesn't want a happy ending, especially these days? The bottom line is the script works. Really well.
Oh, let me not forget to mention the moments of humor in Before I Go. Subtle, yes, but in my book that's the way humor should be, especially in a film about depressed or otherwise Morningside Heights characters.
But she did embody so much of what I know to be a depressed artist, hell, a depressed person, at a stage in life considering where do I go from here, if anywhere? Maybe I should just pack it in. But she did find reasons to live, related to all she thought she'd given up and though it was predictable, so what? Who doesn't want a happy ending, especially these days? The bottom line is the script works. Really well.
Oh, let me not forget to mention the moments of humor in Before I Go. Subtle, yes, but in my book that's the way humor should be, especially in a film about depressed or otherwise Morningside Heights characters.
So disappointing and slooooow
dougdavidson-6381219 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I rarely stop watching a movie especially after 52 minutes in but this was painful to watch. The main protagonist's authentic portrayal of a depressed cyanic was just to much to take after a while. Maybe at some point her character became likeable or sympathetic but I just couldn't wait around to see. I have other movies to watch.
I get it.
ranwulfs16 January 2022
Annabella Sciorra is a one woman show here. Samantha has hit a wall, and can't decide whether to give up, or try to go over it, or if she should even care either way. This film gently explores what happens when we forget the point of living. It's a beautiful meditation on coming to an understanding with ourselves. Manhattan is as much a character here as it is the setting, but instead of representing existential angst as in so many films, it's a comfortable oasis of familiarity for Samantha - her natural element. Watching this film, I felt like I was looking into someone's real life rather than seeing a movie. I get it.
Snore
Horror_Flick_Fanatic21 January 2022
The story is slow and dull. A former musician facing a midlife crisis in her fifties living in New York City. She looks back at her life's accomplishments and what is left for her going forward . She basically feels like a has-been with her glories behind her. Looking for something new to fill her life, but she is closed to new experiences. She contemplates suicide. Few interesting characters and not much else happens. It's basically a snore for dull people.
Single 50-ish females unite
murphysmessage9 January 2022
This could have easily been awful
gnatsong13 January 2022
In the wrong hands, heavy handed hands, this plot could have been played as soap, as hackneyed, as a total bore. But the director, with help from a very fine cast, presented pieces of a life without going over the top or insulting the audience by hammering in the point. This was a fine movie marked by fine performances. Nothing blew up, and there were no bad guys.
Relatable and Very Enjoyable
conniebuy5 January 2022
My attention was caught at the very first screen when the quote from The Guest House was displayed, and I quickly settled in when she confronted the guy in the grocery store. This is a wonderful movie about life; how our perception of it affects how we respond in the world and the impact positive and negative words and actions have on those around us.
Not for the young but amazing movie for the seasoned.
lake-486394 February 2022
Such a amazing movie. Simple, believable, honest, and above all very heart felt. I really appreciate the characters plight of low point freeze. It takes a older perspective to understand what digging deep in the time of nothing. This movie can offer the viewer to think about how to appreciate little growths in life when nothing seems to be moving. Not for young viewers. This movie is a expression of mid life idealism.
Perhaps best or only anti-romantic comedy. Seriously insightful, even funny.
topsonata21 January 2022
This morning I decided to start my own religion based on watching seriously insightful movies instead of going to church. "Before I Go" is the first for my cannon. This might be called an anti-romantic comedy for everyone who does not find true love and has slightly above average intelligence. The usual New York cliches are here. The cynical, sarcastic New Yorker who never quite made it, lives comfortably but never got enough hugs from her mom. She also sees things a little too clearly. Consequently is as suicide prone as Sylvia Plath even if similarly creative. But unlike those famous films--this movie has no fake resolution, no fake happy ending. But a dozen geniune insights and very funny moments that take us half way to enlightenment. In other words, this film is unusually real and insightful plus unusually funny in a special way.
Have you ever found yourself rambling on to someone who is not listening? Seldom happens in movies but often happens in life and it happens twice here. Have you ever felt like rescuing a bird or a bug? How about a worm? Once again this is a ground breaker. Pun not intended but nonetheless it is a good one. And how often do you outsmart a movie only to have the movie outsmart you? I kept saying, "If you want to save that worm get a bag of manure already and keep it in your room until spring." And not only does that happen--but this movie goes one step further in a way that i never would have imagined.
One thing is obviously missing. How do we prevent the Sylvia Plaths of the world from killing themselves? There is nothing in this movie to prevent this one from jumping the next time. Except another accidental reminder that her equally pathetic father would be utterly devastated. I am sure that something could be added which fits the high standard of this film because it does not depend on miracles or miraculous chance. Give me a year to think about it. And, albeit perhaps unintentionally, this is perhaps the message of this film. That we can all add our own ending and all had better do so.
Here is my take. What is the point of human existence? I do not know. Like the lady in this film, I can experience creativity and follow that thought farther than most people but still not very far. And unlike the lady in this film, I have little sympathy for New Yorkers. If you choose to live in a place where even a worm can hardly find space between the concrete and the tree--how can you expect ever to feel anything other than depressed?
All I can say for sure is this. In old TV shows and movies of pioneers going West, they would inevitably pause at a beautiful vista that felt as if an entire continent of green pastures and trees and hills were spread before you. And the Bible seems similarly speechless, in only being able to say, "When God saw this He said this is good."
But in many more movies today--as well as in everyday life--we instead have a "highway scene" with thousands of metal boxes on wheels going north, thousands going south, thousands more going east and west. And each of those boxes uses fuel and soon must be replaced by more metal from the earth.
This is not good. This is like finding the body of an animal that is almost hairless from the highly developed tracks of mange and fleas. But evidently--based on watching hundreds of movies and speaking with hundreds of people--I am extremely rare to feel this way. And that is why I wonder. What is the point of saving the human race even if it can be saved?
This movie does not answer my grand questions nor even ask my questions. Nonetheless it feels like a first step in a related direction on a personal level.
Have you ever found yourself rambling on to someone who is not listening? Seldom happens in movies but often happens in life and it happens twice here. Have you ever felt like rescuing a bird or a bug? How about a worm? Once again this is a ground breaker. Pun not intended but nonetheless it is a good one. And how often do you outsmart a movie only to have the movie outsmart you? I kept saying, "If you want to save that worm get a bag of manure already and keep it in your room until spring." And not only does that happen--but this movie goes one step further in a way that i never would have imagined.
One thing is obviously missing. How do we prevent the Sylvia Plaths of the world from killing themselves? There is nothing in this movie to prevent this one from jumping the next time. Except another accidental reminder that her equally pathetic father would be utterly devastated. I am sure that something could be added which fits the high standard of this film because it does not depend on miracles or miraculous chance. Give me a year to think about it. And, albeit perhaps unintentionally, this is perhaps the message of this film. That we can all add our own ending and all had better do so.
Here is my take. What is the point of human existence? I do not know. Like the lady in this film, I can experience creativity and follow that thought farther than most people but still not very far. And unlike the lady in this film, I have little sympathy for New Yorkers. If you choose to live in a place where even a worm can hardly find space between the concrete and the tree--how can you expect ever to feel anything other than depressed?
All I can say for sure is this. In old TV shows and movies of pioneers going West, they would inevitably pause at a beautiful vista that felt as if an entire continent of green pastures and trees and hills were spread before you. And the Bible seems similarly speechless, in only being able to say, "When God saw this He said this is good."
But in many more movies today--as well as in everyday life--we instead have a "highway scene" with thousands of metal boxes on wheels going north, thousands going south, thousands more going east and west. And each of those boxes uses fuel and soon must be replaced by more metal from the earth.
This is not good. This is like finding the body of an animal that is almost hairless from the highly developed tracks of mange and fleas. But evidently--based on watching hundreds of movies and speaking with hundreds of people--I am extremely rare to feel this way. And that is why I wonder. What is the point of saving the human race even if it can be saved?
This movie does not answer my grand questions nor even ask my questions. Nonetheless it feels like a first step in a related direction on a personal level.
A Shirley Valentine movie for today !!!!!
marysvoetsch7 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I love this movie. I watched it last night and again first thing this morning. I can totally relate to this character in so many ways. I wish I was as brave as she is in dealing with obnoxious people. This is the weird part. I have the exact same plaid pajama pants she wore to the doctor's about her injured ankle. Also, I actually injured my foot this past summer due to bad judgement on my part. I was given the exact medical boot to wear since I tore a tendon. It was so inconvenient that I never wore it. I can see how some people wouldn't like this movie, but I found it to be brilliant.
Nothing and everything
lesleyverspaget25 March 2022
There are great movies for some that are lost on others...
esweet-154-19126010 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I almost didn't watch this based upon the score but Annabella Sciorra, Willie Garson and Robert Klein create winning characters so I gave it a watch. I am glad I did. Clearly an indie format this isn't RomCom Popcorn fluff. The movie is written well with only a couple theatre style lines poking thru otherwise authentic dialogue. It's shot nicely and clearly thought was put into the framing, colorization and editing. It does lull a little in the middle but it's otherwise on tempo. It's a life movie, along the tenor of A Marriage Story, it's Annabella's characters dealing with mid-late middle age. I liked it, l liked that it wasn't trite fluff. Annabella still holds the screen as does Klein and Willie Garson is Willie Garson and that's just perfect. Filled with subtle living in New York touches (plastic bag shoe or dressing down in public) this is a great little flick that ends on a high note. If you're a movie buff or a fan of the actors then give this solid indie flick a watch, you won't be disappointed.
Poignant
lcornelius-8385922 June 2023
Beautiful film about life, reflection, regret, and hope.
Unfortunately the description of the film is utterly lacking. This is more deeply profound than I imagined. It deals beautifully with the issue of depression and trauma; I can't say that about a lot of films. The nuances of the PTSD in the father are very well done, and does not give reason to his hoarding until the right time. Done with a fine touch, the interweaving of humor (some down right hilarious moments) and depression are skillfully done. It was refreshing to watch, and I hope others give it a chance. Those of us having suffered from depression/PTSD can surely appreciate the difficulty in representing such a complex disorder.
Unfortunately the description of the film is utterly lacking. This is more deeply profound than I imagined. It deals beautifully with the issue of depression and trauma; I can't say that about a lot of films. The nuances of the PTSD in the father are very well done, and does not give reason to his hoarding until the right time. Done with a fine touch, the interweaving of humor (some down right hilarious moments) and depression are skillfully done. It was refreshing to watch, and I hope others give it a chance. Those of us having suffered from depression/PTSD can surely appreciate the difficulty in representing such a complex disorder.
True to life
wrigco2 April 2024
I haven't seen Anabella Sciorria in anything for ages. I did not recognise her at first!
Yes, this is slow moving, but that's just what depression feels like. A slow, slow sludge, dragging you down whilst you shuffle around and pretend you're living.
Would watching this cure you of depression? No, but it does provide some sort of understanding of the condition and how debilitating it can be.
There were moments of offbeat humour and some equally odd supporting characters. I loved the story of the earthworm, how original, I even felt touched!
It's very refreshing for a movie with this type of subject matter not to have a dark ending. Thankfully this did not follow the stereotype.
Yes, this is slow moving, but that's just what depression feels like. A slow, slow sludge, dragging you down whilst you shuffle around and pretend you're living.
Would watching this cure you of depression? No, but it does provide some sort of understanding of the condition and how debilitating it can be.
There were moments of offbeat humour and some equally odd supporting characters. I loved the story of the earthworm, how original, I even felt touched!
It's very refreshing for a movie with this type of subject matter not to have a dark ending. Thankfully this did not follow the stereotype.
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