Manipulative and false

Ann(Sarah Polley) is a young mother living by modest means with her loving husband(Scott Speedman) and their two young daughters. Ann's happiness is shattered by the news that she's suffering from advanced and incurable cancer. Her response is unusually calm and she decides not to reveal the news to any of her loved ones. Instead she starts to make plans for her remaining time in this world.

On her list is the desire to find love with a different man while she still can. Conveniently, one falls right into her lap, Hollywood's latest rent-a-nice-guy Mark Ruffalo, and he's head-over-heels for her.

This is a film that may leave viewers with a lot of questions. You may question the morality of Ann dying without letting her family know. You may question her decision to let another man fall in love with her when she knows she hasn't got much time left. You may even question how she hopes to keep her secret until the end, when the ravages of her desease will surely be noticeable. You may well ask the questions, because 'My Life Without Me' never does.

Spanish director Isabel Coixet shoots for a dreamlike, abstract profundity but falls flat on her face. There isn't anything believable in this maudlin, self-absorbed movie and it also suffers from a rare poor performance from Sarah Polley. The talented Polley, admittedly saddled with a poorly conceived character, never convinces us that she's dying, or a mother, or in love, and we're left with a void where the main character should be.

This is an endlessly irritating and trite piece of nonsense which has nothing to say on the subject of death, life or love. In fact it shies away from the matter, setting up Ann's husband with a potential future wife(also called, believe it or not, Ann) as if to soften the blow. Emotionally dishonest and, given the subject matter, downright offensive.