My Life Without Me
Encyclopedia
My Life Without Me is a 2003 Spanish
/Canadian film directed by Isabel Coixet
and starring Sarah Polley
, Mark Ruffalo
, Scott Speedman
, and Leonor Watling
. Based on the book Pretending the Bed Is a Raft by Nanci Kincaid
, it tells a story of the dying process of a 23-year-old woman who has a husband and two daughters. The film was produced by Pedro Almodóvar
's production company, El Deseo
.
) is a hard-working 23-year-old mother with two small daughters, an unemployed husband (Scott Speedman
), a mother (Deborah Harry
) who sees her life as a failure, and a jailed father whom she has not seen in ten years. Her life changes dramatically when, during a medical checkup following a collapse, she is diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer
and told she has only two months to live. Deciding not to tell anyone of her condition, using the cover of anemia
, Ann makes a list of things to do before she dies.
for Best Actress (Polley) and the Goya Award
for Best Adapted Screenplay (Coixet) and Best Song ("Humans Like You" by Chop Suey). The film was released on September 26, 2003 and ran for 12 weeks. It grossed $400,948 domestically and $9,326,006 from the foreign markets for a worldwide total of $9,726,954.
Cinema of Spain
The art of motion-picture making within the nation of Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema.In recent years, Spanish cinema has achieved high marks of recognition as a result of its creative and technical excellence...
/Canadian film directed by Isabel Coixet
Isabel Coixet
Isabel Coixet is a Spanish film director.She received an M.A. in history from the University of Barcelona...
and starring Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
, Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
, Scott Speedman
Scott Speedman
Scott Speedman is a British-born Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series Felicity and Lycan-Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.-Early life:Speedman was born Robert Scott...
, and Leonor Watling
Leonor Watling
Leonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling is an award-winning Spanish film actress and singer.-Early life:Watling was born in Madrid, Spain to a Spanish father and a British mother, and has three siblings, with whom she speaks English. Her father died when she was a teenager.When she was a child, she...
. Based on the book Pretending the Bed Is a Raft by Nanci Kincaid
Nanci Kincaid
Nanci Kincaid is an American novelist who wrote a short story collection titled Pretending the Bed Is a Raft , as well as novels Crossing Blood , Balls , Verbena , and As Hot As It Was You Ought to Thank Me . The film My Life Without Me was based on the title story in Pretending the Bed Is a Raft...
, it tells a story of the dying process of a 23-year-old woman who has a husband and two daughters. The film was produced by Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
's production company, El Deseo
El Deseo
El Deseo is film production company owned by Spanish film producers the Almodóvar brothers . Films produced by the company include All About My Mother, Talk to Her, My Life Without Me, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces and The Skin I Live In.- External links :* Film production company owned...
.
Plot
Ann (Sarah PolleySarah Polley
Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
) is a hard-working 23-year-old mother with two small daughters, an unemployed husband (Scott Speedman
Scott Speedman
Scott Speedman is a British-born Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series Felicity and Lycan-Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.-Early life:Speedman was born Robert Scott...
), a mother (Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
) who sees her life as a failure, and a jailed father whom she has not seen in ten years. Her life changes dramatically when, during a medical checkup following a collapse, she is diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
and told she has only two months to live. Deciding not to tell anyone of her condition, using the cover of anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
, Ann makes a list of things to do before she dies.
Cast
- Sarah PolleySarah PolleySarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
as Ann - Scott SpeedmanScott SpeedmanScott Speedman is a British-born Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series Felicity and Lycan-Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.-Early life:Speedman was born Robert Scott...
as Don, Ann's husband - Mark RuffaloMark RuffaloMark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
as Lee, a man with whom Ann has an affair. - Deborah HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
as Ann's Mother - Jessica AmleeJessica Amlee- Biography :She attended Kanaka Creek Elementary School in Maple Ridge. She is known well for playing Mallory on The Canadian TV show Heartland. She is also known for playing Amy in the thriller-horror film Beneath- Personal life:...
as Penny, Ann's daughter - Kenya Jo Kennedy as Patsy, Ann's daughter
- Amanda Plummer as Laurie, Ann's friend
- Leonor WatlingLeonor WatlingLeonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling is an award-winning Spanish film actress and singer.-Early life:Watling was born in Madrid, Spain to a Spanish father and a British mother, and has three siblings, with whom she speaks English. Her father died when she was a teenager.When she was a child, she...
as Ann, the Neighbor - Maria de MedeirosMaria de MedeirosMaria de Medeiros Esteves Vitorino de Almeida, DamSE , better known as Maria de Medeiros , is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions.-Personal life:...
as The Hairdresser - Julian RichingsJulian RichingsJulian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
as Dr. Thompson - Alfred MolinaAlfred MolinaAlfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
as Ann's Father
Reception
The film won many international and festival awards, including the Genie AwardGenie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for Best Actress (Polley) and the Goya Award
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
for Best Adapted Screenplay (Coixet) and Best Song ("Humans Like You" by Chop Suey). The film was released on September 26, 2003 and ran for 12 weeks. It grossed $400,948 domestically and $9,326,006 from the foreign markets for a worldwide total of $9,726,954.