The Forgotten

 

Title	-	The Forgotten
My Admission	-	$4.00
One Line Review	-	Would’ve Made A Good “X-Files” Episode.

 

Review – Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven, The Hours) and Dominic West (HBO’s The Wire, Mona Lisa Smile) star in this “better than I thought it would be” thriller from director Joseph Ruben (Sleeping With the Enemy).  The Forgotten includes the casting brilliance of Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Snake Eyes), Alfre Woodard (Scrooged, Miss Evers’ Boys), Anthony Edwards (TV’s ER, Revenge of the Nerds), Linus Roache (Chronicles of Riddick, Batman Begins, and Priest), and Lee Tergesen (HBO’s Oz).  Quite a hefty set of actors for a film that doesn’t quite meet the expectations of the audience.  However, it is better than I hoped for and could prove for you, to be at least, a decent waste of time.

Set in Brooklyn, The Forgotten deals with a mother whose 9-year-old son disappeared in an airplane disaster fourteen months previously.  During that time her memories of her son are as fresh as a new wound even as the memories of the living around her seem fade; to the point that the boy may have never existed at all.

The Forgotten has a great premise and if it had been included in The X Files mythology, it could have been a great episode.  As it stands, alone on film, The Forgotten feels a little to late in it’s delivery.  That’s too bad really because about 5 years ago it could have been quite the hit.

Irregardless of its timeliness, The Forgotten still has some flaws as well as some stunning surprises.  Both elevate and damn the film simultaneously.  It’s cast alone, bring an expected quality to the film and the inherent violence (not gore or physical brutality) of the film grabs the viewer and really slaps them into paying attention; quite impressive moments.  There are also some very nice visual shots.  The ones of which I speak are all overhead shots; either of actors or cityscapes.  These take away from the film feeling as mundane as it could have.

Flaw wise it seems a little convenient on some levels and a bit ridiculous on others.  It isn’t anything unexpected from a film with a subject matter such as The Forgotten’s, but its still a let down to see that “one more” film has rested on the laurels of the “cookie cutter” and has not pushed the envelope of our expectations or risen up to a level where the audience is willing to, or distracted enough, to overlook it’s flaws.

-m-