Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The Life Before This is one of those films most producers would be scared of making and most studios would have no idea how to market, which is a shame. Hollywood needs more movies like this. It is by no means a happy-go-lucky, feel-good, quickly forgotten movie like most crap put out today. It actually makes you think(God forbid!) about the importance of seemingly trivial choices that we make everyday and how much ability we have to unknowingly affect the people around us. Sarah Polley is absolutely amazing in this film, which is pretty par for the course with her, but the other actors are all strong enough to not be overshadowed. Credit should go to the director for switching between and connecting multiple story lines with ease and still making you feel like a really know all of the characters. If you're a fan of big budget, action-laden blockbusters or easy to digest fluff, stay away!!! LBT is an intelligent, eloquent, understated, and disturbing(but not unnecessarily or frivolously) film with all the subtlety and nuance of a Sofia Coppola pic. The acting is superb, the script is superb, the cinematograhpy is superb, everything simply works. This movie will leave you questioning, depressed, disturbed, and moved, and yet despite all this, there is something oddly life affirming about it. Rent it and see for yourself.

Actually, unlike the last "reviewer", I thought it was a very well put together piece of Canadian cinema. The cast is well chosen, the stories all tie together in an explosive ending, overall its a sound piece of film.

I've just read a few of the comments on this film, and I can't believe how much people hated it. I adored it. I admit that I was bored at first, but then I suddenly found myself deep in it, and enthralled by the characters. I think that's why people didn't like it. If you're looking for a chronological narrative with closure, this isn't for you. But if you're looking for an in-depth and personal look into people's lives, and how lonely, confused, and scared they can be, this is it.Sarah Polley is incredible as always. She's been one of my favorites for years. And Catherine O'Hara made me remember how much I adore her. She's absolutely wonderful. I could go on... Stephen Rea, Joe Pantoliano, everyone here has a chance to shine, and they do. They show you how people can hurt.

Yet another graphic example that Canada should stick to making maple syrup and ice wine. At those we're good. The movies STINK. This is the most pointless, pretentious, pathetic picture I've seen this year. (And I've seen some pretty awful ones, most of them Canadian.) It's even more galling that my tax money helped fund this dismal exercise in cinematic self gratification. It's a pathetic tale of how several different people spend their day before they all end up being massacred in the same coffee shop by some fleeing bad guys. What the hell is the point of it? Was it inspired by the high profile Vivi Lemonis murder case in Toronto. (She was an innocent bystander shot to death in a coffee shop by three punks.) If so, why not make a decent movie about that incident? Somebody said here that at least this movie portrayed Toronto as Toronto and not NYC. Too bad. It's about as much a reason for civic pride as Hurricane Hazel and the Boyd gang. Gawd!!!!!