Review: The Forgotten

Posted by: Jeremy Maron  •  September 24, 2004 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

As has become a bad habit in the film industry, The Forgotten is a film that has an interesting storyline that is completely given away in the trailer. Seriously, if you have seen the trailer, there is EXTREMELY little that comes as a surprise in the film itself. This is unfortunate as the story is very interesting, and if you didn't know exactly what was coming, this conspiracy thriller could be a lot more exciting than it is.

For the benefit of readers who have not seen the trailer, a BRIEF synopsis is as follows. Julianne Moore plays Telly Paretta, a mother who is grieving the loss of her child who died in a plane crash. As time moves forward, it is revealed to Telly that she did NOT actually have a son, as her husband (Anthony Edwards) and psychiatrist (Gary Sinise) claim that she had constructed a delusional alternate reality for herself over the past 8 years. However, Telly refuses to accept this explanation and becomes involved in a sinister search for the truth.

There, I don't think I have given too much away with that synopsis. The Forgotten's story is certainly interesting, even if the performances offer nothing special. As a thriller, the film works extremely well, causing me to jump with fright in a way I haven't in a long time. As a conspiracy film, The Forgotten does an admirable job of remaining relatively ambiguous rather than in-your-face pronouncement common to many Hollywood thrillers.

Considering the film has an interesting story, I found it too short. Running about 85 minutes or so (by my count), there could have been a bit more character development in the beginning, as you are pretty much thrown into Telly's state of mind before you get to know her at all. Anthony Edwards' character could pretty much be eliminated without sacrificing any of the story, and while Gary Sinise's psychiatrist is an intriguing character, his apparent importance is minimized by a simple lack of screen time and explanation. These complaints are not huge deals, but considering the film is so short, they are some things that I feel could have helped bolster the film from mediocre to above-average.

Tags: The Forgotten, Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Anthony Edwards, Joseph Ruben

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