Premonition (2007)

Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) is a typical housewife and mother. That is until the worst week of her life…

Thursday: While her husband Jim (Julian McMahon) is away on business, Linda drops the children off at school as normal. Later on, she talks to her friend Annie on the phone, then realises she has a message on the answerphone from Jim. He’s talking about something he said to their daughters the other night, which Linda has no memory of. His message is interrupted by him telling her he has a call waiting which he needs to answer.

Following this, Linda receives a visit from the police. The officer informs her that her husband had been killed in a car crash the previous day (Wednesday). She then has to tell her two daughters of the event. At the end of this nightmare of a day, she falls asleep. When she wakes up, she realises that it is now…

Monday: Jim is alive and well! He had not left for his business trip, and events that Linda remembered from the previous day appeared not to have taken place. She begins to believe that his death must have been a bad dream all along, until she wakes up the next day to find that it is…

Saturday: Linda awakes to find an empty glass and a bottle of wine on the bedside table. The bedroom mirror is covered, and there is an empty pill bottle in the sink. The bottle is marked as Lithium, and the doctor’s name on the label is Dr Roth. The pills were prescribed to her, but she had never heard of this doctor! When she goes downstairs, she discovers that today is Jim’s funeral! Is he really dead? In addition to this shock, Linda discovers that her eldest daughter’s face is suddenly covered with cuts, although no one will explain why.

By this point, understandably, Linda doesn’t know what to believe. It appears that she is living through the days of this week in a completely random order. Is she really experiencing premonitions, and if so, could this help her prevent her husband’s death?

This is an amazingly well conceived film, although very complicated. It is probably worth seeing more than once to get the full effect, and you need to concentrate and keep a mental note of which day you are currently watching. You will also then need to put this together with the previous and future days shown in the movie to make sense of the week! This is also brilliantly acted by all concerned. Sandra Bullock’s performance in particular was exceptional. This is a great movie, but remember to keep your brain switched on, as this really requires you to pay attention!