THE FORGOTTEN
Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Revolution Studios/Columbia Pictures
Grade: C
Directed by: Joseph Ruben
Written by: Gerald Di Pego
Cast: Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre
Woodard, Linus Roache, Anthony Edwards
Screened at: Loews 34th St., NYC, 9/26/04
In his review of "The Forgotten" Roger Ebert states, "Who would
make a movie about a mother discovering her beloved child
was imaginary? That would be too sad, too tragic." Roger
forgets Mike Nichols' filmed version of Edward Albee's play,
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," in which Liz Taylor's character,
Martha, imagines a son that never existed.
In Joseph Ruben's "The Forgotten," Julianne Moore performs in
the role of a woman who has vivid memories of her small son,
Sam, who died in the crash of a private plane. Like most other
mothers suddenly faced with the death of a young one, Telly
Paretta (Julianne Moore), a book editor, grieves, but imagine
her frustration when her psychiatrist, Dr. Munch (Gary Sinise)
and her husband, Jim (Anthony Edwards), insist that there never
was a Sam!
With this background, "The Forgotten" could be a picture about
how a mother's long-term mourning leads to an ultimate
acceptance of tragedy, or it could be one, like "Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf," that features a woman who cannot reconcile
herself to the fact that she never had any children. Instead
Ruben, utilizing Gerald Di Pego's script which has been called a
psychological thriller, takes a third route, suggesting that an
alien abduction may have been involved, one which has been
furthered, rather than resisted, by Telly's husband, shrink, and a
special agent for the National Space Administration. What
makes the picture preposterous, rather than simply the sort of
weepy drama that discloses facts and understandings step by
step like the slow piecing together of a crossword puzzle, is that
the answer to the enigma comes at the end. What's more,
about two-thirds into the film, some residents, particularly a
friendly man (Linus Roache), turn into people who are not the
usual run-of-the-mill characters with credible back stories–a
shock similar to the one provided by M. Night Shyamalan in
"The Village" yet one which, unlike that pic, has no rational
explanation.
Until the scenario changes about an hour into the story, "The
Forgotten" merits plaudits. How to explain the family picture
that included Telly, her husband, and her boy Sam wherein Sam
suddenly disappears from the frame? And how could an entire
book suddenly yield nothing but blank pages? And how about
the wall surrounding the home of Telly's neighbor, Ash (Dominic
West) which, trips of its outer covering reveals a large painting
obviously done by a child–though Ash insists that he never had
children?
There is, of course, a honored place for films that are
challenging, those which required two or three viewing to make
sense of them. "Mulholland Drive" is an excellent example of a
film that seems pretentious at first sighting but upon repeat
viewing not only makes sense, but makes us kick ourselves as
though to say, "Why didn't I think of that?" "The Forgotten," by
contrast, conludes on a note that is simply undeserved, making
us dismayed that we have been toyed with and ultimately left
hanging.
Rated PG-13. 89 minutes © Harvey Karten
at harveycritic@cs.com
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