I am finding a little more time to return to Ciao after a long absence. Will try and catch up with o...
I am finding a little more time to return to Ciao after a long absence. Will try and catch up with old friends. As to the writing side of things... well, I have few things to write about.. Now it's just a matter of finding the time... Derek
Member since:26.04.2005
Reviews:78
Members who trust:91
The Forgotten is a DVD film that has been around for some time now, but it is one I hadn't seen until recently. I bought it in Virgin's superstore as part of their 3 DVDs-for-a-£20 offer. I took it home to watch and then decided to write this, my first film review. Something I'd never thought I would attempt, because I suppose I am a bit of an escapist and love films that take me away from mundane reality, regardless of how well they are acted.
The film opens with overhead shots from the sky of New York City as if one flying over it in an aircraft or is it a UFO? Then we meet the protagonist Telly Paretta, played by Julianne Moore, talking with her therapist, trying to come to terms with the loss of her small son Sam who died in an air crash.
As the plot unfolds reasonably quickly, we see that it is not Telly who has "forgotten" anything, but others around her. First her husband, denies that he son ever existed as Telly questions why a photograph has only
two of them in it. What's happened to Sam? She thinks maybe she is going mad when her therapist arrives and tells her she is delusional, that her son never was.
The two men want to commit her, but she runs out of the apartment and to the home of Ash Correll, whom she had met earlier in a park. His daughter was also "killed" in the plane with her son. He's drinking heavily (she assumes due to his loss), but has also "forgotten" the existence of his own daughter. She tries get him to remember, but that is after he has called the police who take her away, but is way-laid outside by the N.S.A and taken into their car.
Back in the apartment, Ash suddenly remembers fragmented memories of his daughter and chases after her, and after a fight with the N.S.A men, they both escape in different directions.
Before Telly and Ash are reunited to embark on a mission to find their missing kids, she sees her husband in the street who not only doesn't know of their son, but fails to recognise her as his wife.
Next there are scenes of them being pursued, by the N.S.A, a female police lieutenant (who thinks it odd that the N.S.A would be interested in a mentally disturbed woman and her associate) and something else that hints of being not-of-this-world.
There are some special effects that come so sudden that it made me nearly jump out of my chair. For those how haven't watched the film, I don't want to describe them, but will just say that they are not so much scary or stunningly complex, but are the last thing you would expect in their particular scenes, especially the way some of the characters are "taken" [by the aliens].
The acting. I think Julianne Moore plays the part of the grieving mother quite well, but it could have been better. I can always gauge this when my wife starts going through the tissues wiping here eyes… Well, she didn't. I got to admit, that if a film is particularly moving, I get the odd lump in the throat too. But this is a thriller sci-fi, meant to get you away from mundane reality, so it is something personally, I can easily overlook.
I feel that Dominic West, who plays Ash Correll, does an excellent job as you see him struggle to work out what the hell's going on as he starts to get flash-backs of his daughter playing in her bedroom. And then later, as he struggles to stop drinking himself into a stupor, something which he really has to overcome if they are both not to get caught.
The therapist, is just as you would expect a therapist to be, gentle, unassuming - perhaps a little "cardboard" if I'm honest. The same as her husband and the female police lieutenant who is trying to work out what's going on. But again, I would say these are all just supporting roles and if they displayed brilliant acting, it would detract from the main characters and their quest to find their missing children.
Eventually they come to the airport where the children took off from on their fatal voyage, but this time the alien (who has appeared once or twice during the film), is waiting. He seems determined to erase Telly's memory of her son completely, and she is determined to keep it. Here we get some more (not stunning but startling) special effects.
To tell any more of the plot would be to give it away to those who intend to purchase the film, so I will now list what's on the DVD.
On the main menu.. Play movie --- Plays the movie. Subtitles --- English, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian (all with captions/commentary) Audio setup --- English, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian Scene Selection --- 28 in all Special Features --- with commentary Trailers --- The Forgotten [other films] Hellboy, Resident Evil, Apocalypse, Frankenfish.
The film has bad language just once, no nudity/mild reference to sex, rated 12 and runs about an hour and a half.
Personally, I will watch the film again…
Thanks for reading.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Jun 14th, 2005
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