A troubled young man and his straight-laced niece embark on a thrilling odyssey through New York City in this heartrending drama based on an Oscar-winning short. As his life hits rock bottom, 20-something Richie decides to end it all, only to have his half-hearted suicide attempt interrupted by an urgent request from his sister to babysit her precocious daughter. So begins a madcap tour of Manhattan after dark, as uncle and niece find unexpected bonds in the unlikeliest of places.
Before I Disappear is an American drama film directed by Shawn Christensen. The film is a feature-length adaptation of the 2012 Oscar-winning short film, Curfew. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest Film on March 10, 2014. The film was acquired for distribution by IFC Films on August 5, 2014 and released on November 28, 2014
About the Story
In New York City, Richie (Shawn Christensen), a downtrodden young man whose girlfriend, Vista (Isabelle McNally), recently disappeared, discovers the corpse of a girl who died from a heroin overdose while he is cleaning bathroom stalls at a nightclub. The club owner, Bill (Ron Perlman), arranges for her body to be removed without notifying the authorities.
At his apartment, Richie attempts suicide by cutting one of his wrists in a bathtub, when he receives a call from his estranged sister, Maggie (Emmy Rossum), asking him to look after her eleven-year-old daughter, Sophia (Fátima Ptacek). Richie goes to her school, where she recites an Emily Dickinson poem in English and Mandarin. Richie takes her to her apartment before heading home, where he attempts suicide by drug overdose. Richie hallucinates a drug dealer calling him on the phone, threatening him by saying he is in the building. Sophia calls, however, and informs Richie that her mother has not returned home.
Richie arrives at the lobby of Maggie’s apartment, where he discovers that the drugs he took were Zolafren, intended for menopause. Outside Maggie’s apartment, a suspicious-looking woman asks Richie about his sister’s whereabouts. After entering, Maggie calls the apartment, indicating to Richie that she is in central booking and upon hearing of the woman, orders Richie to sneak Sophia out of the building.
Richie takes Sophia to a bowling alley where he works. Richie calls central booking, who inform him that his sister was arrested and is awaiting arraignment at 4:30 AM. The owner of the bowling alley, Gideon (Paul Wesley), has Richie brought to the office. Gideon informs him that his girlfriend has been missing for a day, with her last whereabouts being at Bill’s nightclub, and produces a photograph, which Richie recognizes as being of the dead woman he saw the night before. Richie denies knowledge of her whereabouts. He calls Bill, who tells him to come in at 1:30 AM to discuss the situation.
Before I Dissapear
Directed by: Shawn Christensen
StarringB Emmy Rossum, Ron Perlman, Paul Wesley, Fatima Ptacek, Shawn Christensen, Stephanie Kurtzuba, J. Elaine Marcos, Isabelle McNally, Jacqui Denski
Screenplay by: Shawn Christensen
Production Design by: Scott Kuzio
Cinematography by: Daniel Katz
Film Editing by: Andrew Napier, Damon Russell
Costume Design by: Mikaela Wohl
Set Decoration by: Nora Mendis
Art Direction by: Fletcher Chancey
Music by: Darren Morze
MPAA Rating: None.
Studio: IFC Films
Release Date: November 28, 2014
Visits: 65
