Forever Mine (1999)

An affair between a cabana boy and the young wife of a sinister politician triggers a 16-year vendetta between the two men.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writer:

Paul Schrader

Stars:

Joseph Fiennes, Ray Liotta, Gretchen Mol

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Fiennes	...	Manuel Esquema / Alan Riply
Ray Liotta	...	Mark Brice
Gretchen Mol	...	Ella Brice
Vincent Laresca	...	Javier Cesti
Myk Watford	...	Rick Martino
Lindsey Connell	...	Stewardess
Sean Cw Johnson	...	Randy (as Sean C W Johnson)
Shawn Proctor	...	Cabana Boy
Russell Blackwell	...	Business Associate
Jocelyn Snowdon	...	Young Associate's Companion
Kevi Katsuras	...	Julie, Six Year-old Girl
Shannon Lawson	...	Emily, Julie's Mother
Ronald Knight	...	Older Male Executive
Ginger King	...	Older Male's Companion
Ted Simonett	...	Mr. Galen

Storyline

Two stories, 14 years apart, converge in a suburb of New York. Manuel Esquema, an international financier, whose face is badly scarred, is flying from Miami to help a New York politician negotiate a plea bargain with the Justice Department. Years before, this financier was a fresh-faced cabaña boy at a Miami Beach resort who fell in love with a young woman on holiday with her husband. The husband is now the pol, and he thinks he dispatched the cabaña boy long ago. What are Esquema's plans: revenge, mercy, or a complicated plan to seek again the woman's love?

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Plot Keywords:

dysfunctional marriage | sex scene | politician | vendetta | revenge | 

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Taglines:

He gave all for love.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality and violence, and for language

Details

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 2002 (Spain)

Also Known As:

A Sombra de uma Vingança

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forever Mine (UK) Limited, J&M Entertainment, Moonstar Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed at Don Cesar Hotel in St Pete Beach Florida.

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Quotes

Manuel Esquema: Everything has a purpose. Everybody has a purpose. It is my purpose to be with Ella. Nothing can change that; not you, not the police, not the courts. It's just a fact. Like... like plants turning to the Sun, or death, or taxes.
Mark Brice: What is this gibberish? Are you crazy? Nobody talks like this. Make sense!
Manuel Esquema: People are afraid to say what they feel. Ella is afraid.
Mark Brice: I'm not afraid to say what I feel. There's two types of people in this world; assholes and pricks. You're an asshole. And I'm a prick. Do ...

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Crazy Credits

[prologue] "It is the addition of strangeness to beauty that constitutes the romantic character in art". - Walter Pater.

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Connections

References Music from Another Room (1998)

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Soundtracks

Carry On
Written by Danny Gill and Curtis Skelton (ASCAP)
Performed by Danny Gill and Curtis Skelton
Published by Red Engine Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Marc Ferrari/Master Source

User Reviews

Love in the Post Modern Paradox

The intrigue of this movie is"no one will ever love you like this". Fair enough. It's a romance in the classic tradition of love once and forever.

But the romantic rendezvous quickly takes a quirky and complex twist. A twist of fate that is not fully realized or retorted in any satisfying solution. The 14 year development and "downward up-fall" of the two main male characters is woefully thin and without clarity.

There is enough sordid side play and noirish edge to maintain viewer interest but ultimately an unsatisfying and ugly ending lets us down in an odd denouement of devilish melodrama.

The some of the parts do not add up to anything substantial enough to sustain what could have been an exceptional picture puzzle. But the pieces do not fit snuggly together and we are left with a rough, uneven surface to what might have been the Writer/Director's exceptional ode to an era of movie magic he loves. But he unfortunately can not, without compromise, return, and so he is stuck in his own postmodern paradox.