The Oscar winner for 1973's Best Song was the Marvin Hamlisch/Alan & Marilyn Bergman ballad, The Way We Were, belted out by the star of the film of the same name, Barbara Streisand. Some of the well-known lyrics included, "Memories, like the corners of my mind. Misty watercolor memories, of the way we were, "Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line" and "Memories, may be beautiful and yet. What's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget."
I don't think that Julianne Moore's character has that song rattling around her brain in the suspense/thriller, "The Forgotten," but its lyrics are certainly appropriate for the subject matter. You see, fourteen months after the fact, she's haunted by memories of her son's death. To make matters worse, those around here are starting to make her think she might be losing her mind.
Director Joseph Rubin ("Return to Paradise," "Sleeping With the Enemy") -- who works from a script by Gerald Di Pego ("Angel Eyes," "Instinct") -- has concocted an intriguing premise that promises to be a compelling and maybe even exciting psychological thriller. That's especially true considering the ads that show a man seemingly testing some sort of new and powerful ejector seat mechanism as he suddenly blasts up through the ceiling in the blink of an eye.
If those two elements don't exactly seem congruous to you, you're likely onto the nasty secret of this film that starts out so well and then increasingly and unfortunately turns so ludicrous that you wouldn't believe it if you hadn't seen it with your own two eyes.
The thematic concept of memory -- and particularly one that can't necessarily be trusted -- is nothing new in fiction or the movies. Yet, it's obviously an intriguing jumping off point for many a story, particularly since most readers/viewers have questioned their own mental retentiveness or accuracy from time to time.
From the various works of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick (including the one that inspired "Total Recall" and its planting of fake memories) to this year's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") that dealt with such matters in a highly imaginative and unforgettable fashion, the mind can be a fascinating place in which to set a film.
Here, Moore's character is pained by her memories, but unlike the song, she hasn't chosen to forget, but rather to remember. The problem is, everyone around her, not to mention unreliable physical evidence, wants her to believe that her memories are fabricated by her own mind.
With that condition worsening and a host of shady characters appearing on the periphery during the first act, the stage would seem to be set for an intriguing cinematic mind game. For a while it is, as we're just as much in the dark as Moore's character, not knowing what's real or not and who to trust or suspect of some sort of wrongdoing. As things unfold at a rapid pace, we begin to question if it's all really a breakdown or perhaps a dream or nightmare, or maybe even some sort of psychological experiment or supernatural occurrence.
The fun of such films is in trying to solve the mystery before the protagonist figures it out. The problem here is that the scant clues are only red herrings -- and thus useless to our quest. The bigger issue at hand, though, is the eventual revelation of what's really happening.
This is one of those films where it's hard to critique such matters without giving away the big surprise. Going in with the knowledge that the film would probably contain some sort of wild twist, I pretty much figured it out from the onset based on some all too obvious visual clues. Even so, and for those who don't guess it before it occurs, the explanation -- and the route getting there -- will likely disappoint as the effort spectacularly derails into an inescapable pit of ludicrousness.
In short, what initially looks like a compelling if spooky psychological thriller about a woman's mental state of mind turns into the equivalent of a pedestrian episode of TV's "The X-Files." While that may have worked on the show (and often did), at least you knew that's what you were getting when you turned on the boob tube.
Here, the sudden change feels cheap and inexcusable, a point no doubt exacerbated by the many related plot holes and lapses in logic. Again, I can't be specific without giving away the revelations, but most viewers -- either while watching the film or later in hindsight -- will likely start asking a slew of plot and detail related questions starting with "But..."
The one thing the film has going for it is a decent cast, with Moore ("Laws of Attraction," "Heaven") effortlessly bringing more credibility to her part than is presumably on paper. While this isn't much of an acting stretch for her (other than physically running around like she last did in "Hannibal"), she makes her character believable and engaging, two points that help the effort even as it stumbles and trips over itself while unfolding like a noisy accordion.
Gary Sinise ("The Big Bounce," "The Human Stain"), Anthony Edwards ("Thunderbirds," TV's "E.R.") and Dominic West ("Mona Lisa Smile," "Chicago") embody the other major players, with West getting the most screen time. While decent, none are up to matching Moore's effort, which also holds true for Alfre Woodard ("Radio," "The Core") playing a cop who benefits from coincidence and/or lazy directing in always managing to be just on the trail of discovering the truth. Linus Roache ("Beyond Borders," "The Wings of the Dove") plays a character named "A Friendly Man" (I kid you not), but can't do much with the X-Files sort of creation.
Had the film let us know from the onset what sort of story it was going to tell, I think the explanation of what's occurring might have been easier to accept. And I certainly appreciate the thematic element behind all of it and think it's an interesting idea. Yet, the way in which the plot unfolds and that big revelation drops into the picture is just too jarring and incongruous with what precedes it.
Simply put, the picture turns from a mysterious psychological thriller into some sort of goofy sci-fi tale filled with far too many coincidences, plot holes and lapses in logic that only serve to further distract the viewer from the story. In the end, word of mouth may just ensure that this film lives up to its title. "The Forgotten" rates as a 3 out of 10.
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