Sarah Polley delivers a heartbreakingly subtle performance in Isabel Coixet's MY LIFE WITHOUT ME. Polley is Ann, a young mother and wife who works as a university janitor and lives in a trailer in her mother's backyard. The relationship between Ann and her mother (Deborah Harry) is on shaky ground, and though her husband Don (Scott Speedman) is rarely employed, they retain an optimistic spirit. That all comes literally crashing down one morning, when Ann collapses, is rushed to the hospital, and discovers that she only has a few months to live. Determined not to tell anyone, Ann keeps this secret to herself, and instead embarks on a solitary mission to do a list of things she has never done before, including sleep with another man. It turns out that her conquest, Lee (Mark Ruffalo), is a soulful romantic who falls deeply in love with her. As Ann gets to know Lee further, she finds herself falling for him as well. Meanwhile, the realisation that it is all going to end one day soon continues to haunt her. Inventively blending a sobering naturalistic tone with moments of visual whimsy, Coixet's affecting drama allows Polley to truly shine.
