Forever Mine (1999)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writer (WGA):

Paul Schrader (written by)

Release Date:

4 October 2002 (Spain)

Genre:

Thriller | Romance | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He gave all for love.

Plot:

An affair between a cabana boy and the young wife of a sinister politician triggers a 16-year vendetta between the two men.

Plot Keywords:

Politician | Revenge | Vendetta | Plea Bargain | Beach

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Joseph Fiennes	...	Manuel Esquema / Alan Riply
Ray Liotta	...	Mark Brice
Gretchen Mol	...	Ella Brice
Vincent Laresca	...	Javier Cesti
Myk Watford	...	Rick Martino
Lindsey Connell	...	Stewardess
Sean Cw Johnson	...	Randy (as Sean C W Johnson)
Shawn Proctor	...	Cabana Boy
Russell Blackwell	...	Business Associate
Jocelyn Snowdon	...	Young Associate's Companion
Kevi Katsuras	...	Julie, Six Year-old Girl
Shannon Lawson	...	Emily, Julie's Mother
Ronald Knight	...	Older Male Executive
Ginger King	...	Older Male's Companion
Ted Simonett	...	Mr. Galen

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and violence, and for language.

Runtime:

115 min | France:112 min | Germany:113 min

Country:

UK | Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | Germany:16 (video premiere) | Spain:13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Forever Mine (UK) Limited

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

Formula stuff - I've had more interesting nightmares!

Not a bad film, but by no means a good one either. Alan, a cabana boy at a Miami resort, meets and falls in love with Ella, a pretty, young trophy wife to Mark, a businessman. Mark is not happy when Ella discloses her affair with Alan to him, and....you can guess the rest. Predictable, by-the-numbers stuff without even any engaging performances. Joseph Fiennes is just miscast, plain and simple. He moves as though he has something rather large stuck you-know-where and his American accent, moreso than his Spanish accent, is just unconvincing. I like Joseph Fiennes plenty, but I did not buy him as the romantic, heart-throb his character was intended to be. Ray Liotta, on the other hand, is simply walking through his role, shades of 'GoodFellas' all over the place. Gretchen Mol, however, could carve out a nice little niche for herself playing the B-grade Drew Barrymore-Kim Basinger-Ashley Judd, when those stars are unavailable, uninterested or too expensive. She's got the girlish charm and bubbly giggle of Barrymore, the air-brushed good looks of Basinger, and the All-American beauty of Judd...and she's not afraid to get naked on screen, as evidenced here many times.

As for the rest of the movie, Paul Schrader's script is lazy and dull, full of lines that a third grader could've wrote. Too bad because Mr. Schrader has the film noir-ish tone down pat and the photography is great to look at. There's just nothing to occupy the space. We've seen all this before ('Body Heat' comes to mind as well as a slew of others) where this conventional set-up has clicked and provided for some tasty entertainment, but it does not do so here and the result is so-so. Oh, and the ending sucks. Skip it.