A grieving mother,
Telly Parada (Julianne Moore), is struggling to cope with the loss of
her 9-year-old son. She is stunned when her psychiatrist (Gary Sinise)
and her husband tell her that she has created eight years of memories
of a son she never had. But when she meets the father (Dominic West)
of one of her son's friend who is having the same experience, Telly
embarks on a mission to prove her son's existence and her sanity.
Courtesy of IMDB.
CRITIQUE
The Forgotten
is the type of film that has no choice but to rely on movie logic in
order to move the plot along. In thrillers of this type, it is a
necessity. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing; however, it is
awfully convenient that our heroes are able to find the necessary
information and make the right connections at the opportune moment,
even when there is no real evidence to support their assumptions.
The film blends a
psychological thriller with an alien abduction story in a way that,
while interesting to watch, never seems to fall completely into place.
And neither the cast nor the crew is at fault for this. The story is
interesting and keeps a good momentum throughout. Moore is believable
as the distraught Telly. The direction is good, and the film has its
share of good scares. It just, sadly, doesn’t work as well as it
should.
While not a film
that should be in everyone’s collection, it is worth a look. It has a
plot full of twists and turns that may surprise some, but others may
find it very predicable.
THE VIDEO
The transfer looks
wonderful. The image is sharp and the colors are rich and balanced.
The black levels are consistent and there is no digital artifacting at
all. It’s a really good transfer of the film.
THE AUDIO
The film is
presented Dolby digital 5.1 and has a very good mix. The ambient
sound works well and adds a level of creepiness to the film, which
allows the scares to work. The dialogue is clear and is never buried
underneath music or sound effects.
THE EXTRAS
Director and Writer
Commentary:
Director Joseph Ruben and writer Gerald DiPego give a very insightful
and interesting commentary about the production of the film.
Deleted
Scenes/Alternate Ending:
3 deleted scenes and a different (and somewhat more benign ending to
the film.) These are recut into the “extended” edition.
On the Set of
The Forgotten: This is more of the typical talking head “I like working on this
film” interview session than an in-depth look at the making of the
film.
Remembering The
Forgotten:
A very interesting look at the making of the film that goes into more
depth than the “On the Set” featurette.
FINAL THOUGHT
This is an okay
presentation for the film. The film is fairly entertaining; however I
would suggest renting it first.
