re:mote voices

Title: The Forgotten
Cast: Julianne Moore, Anthony Edwards, Christpher Kovaleski, Jessica Hecht, Linus Roache, Gary Sinise
Director: Joseph Ruben

The Forgotten is one of those films from Hollywood which fall into the category of new weird cinema, which includes films like Donnie Darko or The Butterfly Effect. But while it has a clear potential to be successfully weird and cool, it somehow just doesn’t pull it off in the way it should do. There is just something about the balance between plot and character and the development thereof, which isn’t quite pulled off. The atmosphere and delivery builds in a manner that has seen a range of comparisons to the likes of The Twilight Zone and The X-files, though perhaps aspires more to the influence of M. Night Shyamalan.

The Forgotten for the first half is considerably understated and downbeat – only really flipping out in the second half of the film. To a degree the second half of the film could still work, playing with conspiracy, hints and revelations. Possibly there are aspects where the film tries too hard – the recurring stranger and his part in the big picture being the most obvious point I can pinpoint.

Plot wise – Julianne Moore takes the lead as a mother who has lost her son in a plane crash and never got over the death. However this is the set up for the question of whether she really ever had a son – her husband and psychiatrist confront her with the idea the she has fabricated the whole thing. But Moore remains convinced by her version of events and is determined to prove it, only for events to become more complicated and convoluted in the process. Julianne Moore and Anthony Edwards play their parts well and with a definite conviction. The potential is there and The Forgotten really could have been a good film, instead it never really live up to that and leaves the viewer unsatisfied.