VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE

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Director: Emily Young
Screenplay: Roberta Hanley and Larry Gross
US Release Date: 20 January 2015
Gellar's role: Veronika Deklava
Length: 103 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Music: Murray Gold

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Veronika Decides To Die

Veronika attempts suicide, then wakes up in mental hospital to learn that she has five days to live.

"Gellar bravely strips away all vanity for the character of Veronika, a thirty-something businesswoman suffering from depression, and brings the viewer head-on into a collision of emotional exhaustion. Veronika is a lonely character, but also a selfish one, and it’s tremendously refreshing how dedicated Gellar becomes in delivering the reality of the character without sugar-coating the ugliness. She doesn’t try to create a heroine, just a fleshed-out human being who has convinced herself that life is nothing but a depressing field of emptiness.
--- Reese Film Review
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Veronika Deklava

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The story begins with Veronika (Gellar)—the spelling of her name presumably derives from the fact that the source material was set in Slovenia—attempting suicide via an overdose of pills and booze in lieu of continuing her prosperous but apparently spiritually unfulfilling life. Needless to say, the effort fails and she instead wakes up in an upstate New York mental asylum, where she’s informed that her overdose caused a heart attack and resulting aneurysm that will certainly kill her within a week or so."

Veronika wa shinu koto ni shita - video thumbnail

The book inspired an album of the same title by Danish band Saturnus, and songs "Veronica" by Japanese band Aqua Timez, and "Saint Veronika" by Canadian band Billy Talent.

Young also directed KISS OF LIFE , (2003) starring Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, which was nominated for six awards and won three of them.

John Hansen wrote on Reviews From My Couch: "It’s artfully made, achieving drama without words. Jonathan Tucker’s Edward – whose secret backstory is among the things that keep a viewer engrossed – doesn’t even speak. Although it’s not overly indulgent, we could drift away at times on the delicate piano score. Indeed, a pivotal scene finds Veronika revisiting her skills on the ivories, playing a gorgeously passionate song while Edward looks on, as enthralled as we are. The writers give complementary arcs to the supporting cast, including...David Thewlis as the lead psychologist, Melissa Leo as a veteran patient who is doing well, and Erika Christensen as the requisite oddball patient."

Gellar's makeup artist for Sarah Michelle Gellar was Caryn Brostoff, who also did Gellar's makeup for Suburban Girl, Harvard Man, and Simply Irresistible.

VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE can be streamed on TUBI, and is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

CAST

Veronika wa shinu koto ni shita

The Japanese film adaptation of Paolo Cohelo's book is called "Veronika wa shinu koto ni shita" (2005), and was directed by Kei Horie). It starred Yoko Maki, who was the character Yoko in THE GRUDGE, and its soundtrack is by composer Andrea Morricone.

TRAILER

Veronika Decides To Die video thumbnail
Veronika Decides To Die - poster