After being told that their children never existed, a man and woman soon discover there is a much bigger enemy at work.After being told that their children never existed, a man and woman soon discover there is a much bigger enemy at work.After being told that their children never existed, a man and woman soon discover there is a much bigger enemy at work.
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- 7 nominations total
P.J. Morrison
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Well, at least the movie has Julianne Moore. It also has a dozen plot holes and a handful of dangling threads. But there's Julianne Moore. There's a crackpot plot twist of "Twilight Zone" or "X Files" proportions. And then there's Julianne Moore. Okay, she's not the ONLY good thing in 'The Forgotten'. Without giving anything away (and be careful of reading reviews because to explain this movie is to spoil it), a significant member of the multi-cultural cast is whooshed away in a terrific GOTCHA moment. I usually hate those, but it worked like gangbusters this time. You knew something might happen, but not THAT. I haven't been as surprised by such a GOTCHA since Sam Jackson was torn apart by digi-sharks in 'Deep Blue Sea'.
A psychological drama is what we get in the first 30 minutes as Telly (Moore) struggles with the recent death of her young son, Sam. Her husband (Anthony Edwards) and her therapist (Gary Sinise) are trying to convince Telly that Sam never existed. She made him up. Hmmmm. Had 'The Forgotten' stayed on that track with one of the best actresses in Hollywood leading the way, I'd probably be saying nice things about the movie. For some reason, director Joseph Ruben and writer Gerald Di Pego decide to awkwardly cross genres and turn this into some sort of half-assed sci-fi encounter. Government conspiracy abounds with deceptive villains and their cheesy, villainous ambitions.
I've been vague because there are plenty of twists & turns that are best left unrevealed for those who want to see this flick. The mother/son story is poignant, but 'The Forgotten' doesn't want to be about such interesting stuff. Too bad. So Sinise gets to do nothing and Edwards does less. [He gave up 'ER' for wimpy supporting parts in B movies?] Dominic West---who's just as dull as the other men in this movie---co-stars as a father who apparently lost his daughter in the same Sam-killing plane crash. Or did he? Hmmmm. Hey, did I mention that Julianne Moore is good? A fine leading performance and one super-duper shock aren't enough to save this misguided pseudo-thriller. And let's not speak of that wuss-out ending...
A psychological drama is what we get in the first 30 minutes as Telly (Moore) struggles with the recent death of her young son, Sam. Her husband (Anthony Edwards) and her therapist (Gary Sinise) are trying to convince Telly that Sam never existed. She made him up. Hmmmm. Had 'The Forgotten' stayed on that track with one of the best actresses in Hollywood leading the way, I'd probably be saying nice things about the movie. For some reason, director Joseph Ruben and writer Gerald Di Pego decide to awkwardly cross genres and turn this into some sort of half-assed sci-fi encounter. Government conspiracy abounds with deceptive villains and their cheesy, villainous ambitions.
I've been vague because there are plenty of twists & turns that are best left unrevealed for those who want to see this flick. The mother/son story is poignant, but 'The Forgotten' doesn't want to be about such interesting stuff. Too bad. So Sinise gets to do nothing and Edwards does less. [He gave up 'ER' for wimpy supporting parts in B movies?] Dominic West---who's just as dull as the other men in this movie---co-stars as a father who apparently lost his daughter in the same Sam-killing plane crash. Or did he? Hmmmm. Hey, did I mention that Julianne Moore is good? A fine leading performance and one super-duper shock aren't enough to save this misguided pseudo-thriller. And let's not speak of that wuss-out ending...
Instead of going into a detailed review of this movie, I would just like to point out that the DVD of The Forgotten offers the possibility to view the Theatrical Release or the Extended Version which contains an alternate ending.
The Extended Version runs 8 minutes longer than the Theatrical version. Basically, the changes consist of 2 scenes that were cut off the Theatrical Release + the alternate ending. If you have not seen this movie yet, GIVE YOURSELF A FAVOR and watch the EXTENDED VERSION. The alternate ending is TOTALLY DIFFERENT and in my humble opinion a lot more in tune with the rest of the movie. I have not seen this movie in theaters and I decided to watch the Extended Version first. I'm glad I did! After the viewing, I decided to check the Theatrical Ending and I can totally understand why many people have talked negatively about the "Hollywood Ending" of The Forgotten. The Extended Version fixes that very well. I cannot understand why this was not the version showed in theaters.
All in all: good acting, good story - 8/10.
The Extended Version runs 8 minutes longer than the Theatrical version. Basically, the changes consist of 2 scenes that were cut off the Theatrical Release + the alternate ending. If you have not seen this movie yet, GIVE YOURSELF A FAVOR and watch the EXTENDED VERSION. The alternate ending is TOTALLY DIFFERENT and in my humble opinion a lot more in tune with the rest of the movie. I have not seen this movie in theaters and I decided to watch the Extended Version first. I'm glad I did! After the viewing, I decided to check the Theatrical Ending and I can totally understand why many people have talked negatively about the "Hollywood Ending" of The Forgotten. The Extended Version fixes that very well. I cannot understand why this was not the version showed in theaters.
All in all: good acting, good story - 8/10.
Telly Paretta is seeing a shrink as therapy for losing her son in a plane crash, only she never had a son but is convinced she had. All the people in her life don't remember Sam including her husband. When she confronts the alcoholic fathers of another child from the flight they set out to discover the truth and the truth is "out there".
Part X-Files and part Lifetime movie of the week, "The Forgotten" seems to really channel Chris Carter's hit TV show, look it even has a redhead. The story is interesting and Julianne Moore's performance is sincere but you can't help but think that something is missing. The clever twist is good but they could have easily expanded the storyline and made it more "something".
Good but not great, "The Forgotten" seems to lack its own identity due to the derivative nature of the storyline which needed a bit of assistance from Fox Mulder.
Part X-Files and part Lifetime movie of the week, "The Forgotten" seems to really channel Chris Carter's hit TV show, look it even has a redhead. The story is interesting and Julianne Moore's performance is sincere but you can't help but think that something is missing. The clever twist is good but they could have easily expanded the storyline and made it more "something".
Good but not great, "The Forgotten" seems to lack its own identity due to the derivative nature of the storyline which needed a bit of assistance from Fox Mulder.
First, if it's not already too late, please avoid the trailers, and I recommend watching the extended version with the alternate version. Why? One of the best surprises is spoiled in the trailer (lesser ones too) and the alternate ending is arguably better, definitely less simple and Hollywood-like despite the same final result. So, this was a very good thriller with an excellent concept I don't remember seeing done anywhere before in TV or film. What if your kid died in an accident but months later you were told by everyone he never existed? I appreciated how the subject was explored and how gradually that revelation and others were made. Is our mother delusional or is there something else going on? Of course, an option is more likely than the other, but the journey was suspenseful. At several moments in the film, there was an escalation of events that raised the stakes and made things more interesting and disturbing.
However, this thriller succeeds in part because it's grounded emotionally by Julianne Moore's intense performance. I felt for her ordeal and to be that believable, it's obvious she really is a mother who loves children. Of course, most mothers wouldn't be such great actresses. ;-) The other performances were decent and didn't detract. The directing also helped matters as the veteran Joseph Ruben obviously knows this genre. I appreciated the overhead shots, shots through obstacles and windows implying that our heroine might be observed. It wasn't the flashiest shots but they were well done. Of particular note to me were the accident and the captures, rather effective and shocking. I also liked how the color schemes differed from warm golden in flashbacks to cold bluish in the present. So, very neat "Twilight Zone" concept aptly executed with a great female lead. Your appreciation might depend on how open-minded you are, but for a critical cynic like me, I wasn't taken out by stupid behavior or illogical crap.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (very good)
However, this thriller succeeds in part because it's grounded emotionally by Julianne Moore's intense performance. I felt for her ordeal and to be that believable, it's obvious she really is a mother who loves children. Of course, most mothers wouldn't be such great actresses. ;-) The other performances were decent and didn't detract. The directing also helped matters as the veteran Joseph Ruben obviously knows this genre. I appreciated the overhead shots, shots through obstacles and windows implying that our heroine might be observed. It wasn't the flashiest shots but they were well done. Of particular note to me were the accident and the captures, rather effective and shocking. I also liked how the color schemes differed from warm golden in flashbacks to cold bluish in the present. So, very neat "Twilight Zone" concept aptly executed with a great female lead. Your appreciation might depend on how open-minded you are, but for a critical cynic like me, I wasn't taken out by stupid behavior or illogical crap.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (very good)
Yeah sure I'll be in the minority a lot of people bash The Forgotten not me it's the perfect amount of weird! The kind of movie that makes me wanna say wtf in a good way; definitely some X-Files Esq. Julianne Moore did an extraordinary performance! Oh man the alternate ending is effed up the way it should've been.
Did you know
- TriviaAfter Julianne Moore runs through a grocery store and an alley, she stops in front of white graffiti on a wall. It's the logo of Revolution Studios, which produced the movie.
- GoofsWhen Ash and Telly enter the Long Island house it is daylight, but as they go through the house it is night (Ash is in the dining room with a lantern and there is complete blackness in the windows).
- Quotes
Telly Paretta: Do you get drunk every night?
Ash Correll: No. Sometimes I'm drunk by noon.
- Alternate versionsThe movie has two endings; one for the theatrical release, and an alternate version included in the movie's DVD. In the first, after a brief dialogue with Telly, the man creates an illusion of Sam which Telly chases through the hangar, and then confronts her again. He reveals that the purpose of the experiment is not to investigate the children, but rather the bond that exists between a parent and child, and that he believes it can be broken. He admits, however, that the experiment has so far produced no positive results with regards to Telly, and that it will fail soon if she doesn't forget, and he will be responsible for that failure. However, despite him revealing himself as an alien and almost succeeding by stealing the memory of Sam's birth, Telly can still remember her son, and he is whisked away by an unseen force, presumably to face the consequences of failure. Reality is restored to normal, and Telly is the only one who can remember the events that transpired. The alternate version is very similar, except that Telly is faced with a facsimile of Sam's room. She tries to force her way in, but cannot reach Sam. The alien scientist tries to convince her to forget Sam, but fails. He then accepts that the experiment has failed, and explains that she will be the only one who remembers what transpired there. Reality is again restored to normal.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Remembering 'the Forgotten' (2005)
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Забуте
- Filming locations
- Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA(Park scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $42,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $67,133,509
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $21,022,111
- Sep 26, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $117,592,831
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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