Review of The Forgotten (2004) by Carly H — 05 Sep 2009

Read the title: The name says it all.

Movie Review:

The Forgotten.

(Out of 5).

PLOTLINE: *1/2.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: **.

SCRIPT: ***.

ACTING: ****.

Picture this: You wake up one day, a normal day. Sun is shining, maybe a cloud or two in the sky. Cars buzz through the busy city as usual. The only thing out of the ordinary is the fact that you seem to be the only one who remembers that you had a son. Seemingly everyone in the world is trying to convince you that every memory you hold dear is a lie and that your baby boy never existed.

Gripping right? I thought so too. That?s why on a Friday night, I picked it up from a blockbuster-near-me, sat down with some friends and cookie dough, and clicked play on the DVD player. Looking back, I probably should?ve rented the Grudge III.

In this film, mother Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) is a regular visitor to a psychologist?s office, trying to get past the unbearable grief of her son?s death. From the start, you notice little things are off about Telly. That is, she tends to occasionally manufacture memories, such as drinking a cup of tea that was never poured for her.

But as the film progresses, her husband and psychologist alike break some unexpected and life-shattering news to Telly: Her son never existed. And all the memories? Manufactured by her subconscious after grieving a miscarriage.

But Telly is not the only victim. She turns to fellow parent Ash Correll (Dominic West), whose daughter used to play with Telly?s son Eliot. But upon finding him in his apartment, all signs of his little girl are gone, and it seems at first that she too never existed. Of course with love the never-fail cure by his side, he soon finds traces of his daughter inside the apartment--her drawings. He quickly meets up with Telly and together, they are determined to find evidence that they?re children are out there.

Upon hearing the plot, I was intrigued. And for a good half an hour, the film had my mind reeling and my head tilted to the side, wondering who was right? The psychologist or Telly? Why doesn?t Ash remember his daughter as quickly as Telly remembers Eliot? Possible government conspiracy?

I?m pretty sure that the government does not yet have the ability to hide their secret headquarters in a sickly obvious ring-shaped cloud. So when Telly notices this sitting heavy in the sky and proceeds to ask Ash if ever feels like he?s being watched, I shook my head in shame.

That?s right. No government conspiracy, no psychological twist at the end taking place in a padded room somewhere over the crazy trainbow. Just another badly incorporated sci-fi subplot buried within a seemingly decent thriller.

Had the movie not taken a turn for the strangely supernatural, I probably would?ve enjoyed the whole thing through. But as soon as Telly looks up, the quality of this movie goes down...the toilet.

While the acting delivered from Oscar winning Julianne Moore and Critic?s choice Dominic West was solid, I just wish they could?ve used their talents in a more deserving film. Of course, we?ve seen Julianne Moore in her share of sci-fi, including supernatural comedy Evolution and a title everyone should be familiar with, Jurassic Park II. Now, I?ll admit, neither of these movies have plots that are solidly believable, but The Forgotten takes this to a new level. At least the other two mentioned films are based on a scientific fact...well, what most people accept to be fact.

And finally, my number one pet peeve about this film: the choice of scenes. I realize this isn?t something that critics usually incorporate into their reviews, but think about it. The selection of which scenes should stay and which should get shoved into the special edition disk is very important to the quality of the film. When I watched the deleted scenes, the extended scene at the end in which Telly finds out what is going on was 110% more informative than the scene chosen for the film. While shorter, the scene in the theatrical version had me scratching my head and left much to be desired.

There?s not much more I can say about this movie. The first almost half, while entertaining, collapses into itself quicker than a dying star. And while I can understand the writers? desire to create an original screenplay, I don?t agree with feeling the need to throw sci-fi into the recipe. Anyone can do that with virtually any movie. Catherine Heigl could?ve owned 27 dresses because ?those from the stars? commanded her to.

In the end? The Forgotten is just that: forgettable. The plot falls apart as soon as aliens are brought into the mix, at which point it is deemed rotten and too unbelievable to be entertaining. Bottom line; you want to put on a movie with your friends and talk throughout the whole thing without worrying about what your missing? Rent and forget this film. Rent and forget.