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(About Our Ads) "THE FORGOTTEN" (2004) (Julianne Moore, Dominic West) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Mild Extreme Moderate Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor Moderate Extreme None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None Extreme Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Suspense/Thriller: When his photos and other belongings start disappearing, a woman tries to figure out if she's going insane, or whether there's some sort of conspiracy to make her think her dead son never existed. PLOT: Telly Paretta (JULIANNE MOORE) is a married book editor whose life was upended when her 9-year-old son Sam (CHRISTOPHER KOVALESKI) was killed in a plane crash fourteen months ago. Despite the loving support of her husband, Jim (ANTHONY EDWARDS), and regular sessions with therapist Dr. Jack Munce (GARY SINISE), Telly's world is filled with grief and loving memories of her dead son. She becomes more distraught and unbalanced, however, when she thinks that Jim has begun systematically removing all evidence that their son ever existed, such as excising him from photographs and erasing old videotapes of him. To her shock and horror, both Jim and Jack inform her that Sam never existed and was just part of an imaginary life she concocted following a miscarriage. Telly flees and goes to the only person she thinks will understand her plight, former NHL player turned alcoholic Ash Correll (DOMINIC WEST) whose daughter perished in the plane crash along with Sam and others. Yet, Ash states he never had a daughter, a point that only confuses and frustrates Telly even more, as she knows she can't be going crazy. Ash calls the police, but when they arrive to get her, so does NSA agent Carl Dayton (ROBERT WISDOM). With earlier prompting from Telly, Ash suddenly remembers his daughter and helps Telly escape from the Feds. As the two then go on the run from those agents, local police Det. Anne Pope (ALFRE WOODARD) who's been called to the case by Jim, and others including a strange man (LINUS ROACHE) who's always lurking about, Telly is determined to find out who or what's behind the apparent conspiracy designed to make her think her son never existed. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into spooky-looking, psychological thrillers or are fans of anyone in the cast, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For intense thematic material, some violence and brief language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JULIANNE MOORE plays a married book editor who begins to wonder if she's going crazy when photos and videos of her dead son suddenly disappear and everyone, including her husband, says they never had a son. She then sets out on a quest to find out what's going on and teams up with Ash while doing so. She briefly uses strong profanity. ANTHONY EDWARDS plays her husband who's distraught over the fact that his wife appears to be having a nervous breakdown and slipping into psychosis. DOMINIC WEST plays the father of one of Sam's childhood friends (and an ex-pro hockey player) who doesn't think he ever had a daughter. He drinks a lot, uses some profanity, and is a disbeliever at first but then finally remembers and sets out to help Telly. He gets physical with a few people along the way to the truth. LINUS ROACHE plays a strange man who appears to be following and watching all of Telly and Ash's moves. GARY SINISE plays the therapist who's trying to help Telly through her crisis. ROBERT WISDOM plays an NSA agent who's interested in Telly. ALFRE WOODARD plays a NYC detective who gets involved in Telly's case and isn't happy that the feds are poking their noses into it. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this suspense/thriller that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some brief, sexually related dialogue is present, while a woman is briefly see in her small underwear in a nonsexual context. Violence consists of various characters suddenly and forcibly being yanked off into the sky by invisible forces (we don't know their condition after that), some fighting, other hitting and struggling, and a cop shooting a suspect several times (but the wounds instantly heal). Those scenes and others (including some "jump scenes") may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to some viewers, and those responsible for all of the bad stuff that occurs obviously have bad attitudes. Tense family material involves a mother still grieving over her 9-year-old fourteen months after his death. Other thematic elements include potential insanity and a man who's an alcoholic (and drinks and is drunk several times). Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, some of the camerawork here is quite jumpy, etc. and may have that effect on them. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Jim brings home a bottle of champagne. Ash drinks and appears drunk. Ash has a drink in his hand. He then pours himself more and asks Telly if she's drinking. She says no and then asks if he gets drunk every night. He replies that no, sometimes he's drunk before noon. Ash returns to a motel room with a bottle of liquor. Ash returns with another bottle of liquor and drinks some. Telly tells him that he can't drink himself out of their predicament and asks him to stop. He then pours out the rest of the liquor. BLOOD/GORE A man has some blood on his head after being hit there. Anne approaches a house with her gun drawn. A man doesn't follow her orders to stop walking away from her, so she shoots him in the leg (the wound is initially and only briefly bloody, but immediately heals). She then shoots him twice more in the back, but those brief wounds also instantly heal. We see a flashback image to a newborn infant slightly covered in some birth goo. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Those responsible for the events that have led Telly to think she's lost her mind obviously have bad attitudes. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Glass suddenly shatters in a car and two cars then collide as agents come after and then chase Telly and Ash. The latter two hide in some tall grass and are nearly discovered when the agent close to them gets a call to return. We see various mysterious people watching Telly and Ash. We see a point of view shot as if someone or something is watching Telly and Ash in a house. Ash drives a person back into a wall where they struggle, with the man eventually getting Ash around the neck. The two then accidentally back into and crash through a glass window, falling many stories toward the road below. We see one whisked away by an invisible force, but we don't see the other hit and he apparently did not (as there's no body, etc.). Telly chases after what she believes is Sam in an empty warehouse, but can't catch him. A man's face suddenly turns monstrous and he lets out a yell that shatters the glass all around Telly (but she isn't cut). A man suddenly grabs Telly (accompanied by sudden music) by the throat and lifts her from the floor with his hand, choking her. GUNS/WEAPONS Handgun: Used by Annie to shoot a mysterious man, but his wounds instantly heal and he's no worse for the wear. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "What makes you so f*cking special?" "Oh sh*t," "Who the hell is it?" "What the hell /are you doing/did you do?" "You're out of your mind," "You're freaking me out," "G*ddamn snob," "Pissed," "You nut job" and "You son of a bitch." Telly wakes up Ash from a drunken stupor with a dash of cold water from a motel ice bucket. JUMP SCENES Glass suddenly shatters in a car. A man is suddenly and forcibly yanked up out of a chair and through the roof (part of which goes with him) by an invisible force, disappearing into the night sky. A person is suddenly and forcibly yanked off the ground by an invisible force and disappears into the distant sky. A person suddenly surprises Telly. A man suddenly grabs Telly (accompanied by sudden music) by the throat and lifts her from the floor with his hand, choking her. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 1 "s" word, 4 hells, 1 S.O.B, 4 uses of "G-damn," 2 each of "Oh my God" and "Swear to God" and 1 use each of "God," "Jesus," "Jesus Christ" and "Oh god." SEX/NUDITY Jack asks Telly, "How's the sex?" (meaning how intimate she and her husband have been). She replies by asking how he'd feel if she asked him that question. He says he'd tell her but jokes that he'd have to charge her more. While swinging on a playground swing while drunk, Ash playfully tells Telly that he came there hoping to meet other "swingers." He then asks if she wants to come with him, but she declines. Ash asks Telly, "Can we talk about this after?" (making her and us wonder if he's referring to sex). She says "After what?" and he replies, "After I sleep" and he does just that. While platonically sharing a motel room while on the run from the feds, Telly starts to undress to go to bed, but pauses as Ash stares at her. When he turns away, she continues and we briefly see her in her small panties (in the dark room and we later get a brief glimpse of the same in the daylight the following morning as she gets dressed). SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Telly and Jim's 9-year-old son died 14 months ago in a plane crash and she's still having difficulties with the loss. That's also putting a strain on her marriage, especially when she thinks that Jim is trying to erase all evidence of the boy's existence (at one point early on she tells him that she can't be with him anymore because of that). We hear that Telly reportedly had a miscarriage in the past. Telly mentions Ash's ex-wife. Telly is shocked when her husband doesn't recognize her at all. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Dealing with familial loses. Memories. The close relationship and bond between mothers and their children. Insanity and those suffering from it. VIOLENCE Telly throws a framed photo to the floor where the glass in it cracks. Trying to get to Telly to tell her that he remembers his daughter, Ash elbows Carl's partner in the gut and then struggles with the two of them, eventually kicking and shattering a car window. More struggling continues, with Telly escaping and the partner punching Ash in the gut and then repeatedly hitting him with some sort of rod before Ash knocks him to the street and flees. Carl knocks a person to the street as he chases after Telly. Glass suddenly shatters in a car and two cars then collide as agents come after and then chase Telly and Ash. Ash drives into a man who's blocking his way, blasting him back into a gas pump. Ash and a shocked Telly drive away, but we later hear and see that the man is okay. A fed car sideswipes a cab. Ash thinks he hears something and goes out into the woods brandishing a fireplace poker. He then spots a man spying on the cabin and whacks the man over the head with it, knocking him out. When the man comes to, he has some blood on his head and he's tied to a chair. Ash wants answers and pokes, prods and hits him with that poker, including taking out part of the chair with a wild swing of it. He also hits him several times, while Telly smacks him once. A man is suddenly and forcibly yanked up out of a chair and through the roof (part of which goes with him) by an invisible force, disappearing into the night sky. Ash uses a table to break through some glass to exit a house. Anne approaches a house with her gun drawn. A man doesn't follow her orders to stop walking away from her, so she shoots him in the leg (the wound is initially bloody, but immediately heals). She then shoots him twice more in the back, but those brief wounds also instantly heal). A person is suddenly and forcibly yanked off the ground by an invisible force and disappears into the distant sky. Ash drives a person back into a wall where they struggle, with the man eventually getting Ash around the neck. The two then accidentally back into and crash through a glass window, falling many stories toward the road below. We see one whisked away by an invisible force, but we don't see the other hit and he apparently did not (as there's no body, etc.). A man's face suddenly turns monstrous and he lets out a yell that shatters the glass all around Telly (but she isn't cut). A man suddenly grabs Telly by the throat and lifts her from the floor with his hand, choking her. A man is suddenly and forcibly yanked up through a ceiling by an unseen force and disappears into the sky (with resultant damage to the roof). Reviewed September 20, 2004 / Posted September 24, 2004