The Forgotten (2004)

Number Rolled: 30

Movie Name/Year: The Forgotten (2004)

Genre: Thriller

Length: 91 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: Joseph Ruben

Writer: Gerald Di Pego

Actors: Julianne Moore, Christopher Kovaleski, Matthew Pleszewicz, Anthony Edwards, Jessica Hecht, Linus Roache, Gary Sinise, Dominic West, Scott Nicholson, P.J. Morrison, Robert Wisdom, Tim Kang, Kathryn Faughnan, Alfre Woodard

Screw the reviews, I liked this film.

A woman loses her son in a plane crash and goes to a therapist who works hard to convince her that her memory has been faulty. Evidence builds up to show that the son might not be dead, instead, he may actually never have existed. Unwilling to believe that she is delusional, Telly (played by Julianne Moore) goes on a mission to find someone who remembers her son, Sam. She comes across Ash (played by Dominic West) who eventually remembers, not only Sam, but his own daughter from the same supposed plane crash. They work together to thwart the police and FBI while they look for answers to the mystery of the lost memory of their kids.

It’s got a creepy kind of Twilight-Zone storyline to it. The story doesn’t let on that there’s a supernatural twist until about a half hour to forty minutes in, though there is some foreshadowing and implicating done that allows you to arrive to the conclusion on your own. In fact, if you really think about it, predicting the ending isn’t very difficult, but you would have to use your brain throughout the story to do so.  

To be honest, the story is a tad underdeveloped. The way they bring in the supernatural factor is kind of, ‘meh.’ It feels like they could have used a better catalyst to explain that portion. The ending, also, didn’t seem to answer all of the questions even those directly posed from the climax. I have learned there’s an alternate ending on the DVD. Supposedly, it is better than the one they used. Aside from that, there were some missteps in the filming; shaky camera scenes that really had no purpose in being wobbly, for instance.

It is possible that the movie isn’t as good as I seem to believe it is. The actors were good enough to make me care about the characters and their stories, regardless of the script. That’s not really a usual thing. The script was most likely mediocre, but the delivery, especially from Julianne Moore, made it seem exceptional.

I saw this movie once before and I think I might have seen the alternate ending because I either dreamed about another scene or I saw a scene that wasn’t in this version. It was kind of strange waiting for a scene that would never come - but certainly fitting for the title.

Overall Opinion – 3.5/5