Film Reviews

The Forgotten

• Rating:
• Director: Joseph Ruben
• Starring: Alfre Woodard
• Details: US/ 90 mins/ (15PG).

One of the few actresses working today who can actually make a poor movie watchable, Julianne Moore has her work cut out for in the sub X-Files shenanigans of The Forgotten. She plays Telly, a grieving Brooklyn mom who lost her son 14 months previous in a mysterious plane crash. In therapy with a shrink (an underused Sinise) to help her deal with her loss (or so she thinks), Telly's shocked when her well-ordered world begins to fall asunder, starting with her hubby (Edwards) rejecting her grief. Refusing to accept that she's off her rocker, Telly seeks out another parent whose child perished in the crash and together they intend to get to the bottom of the issue.
An intriguing opening thirty minutes and the steely resolve of Moore to keep performing, despite the preposterous arc of the script, are about the best things that can be said for the risible antics of The Forgotten. Unwilling or unable to engage the audience in anything which could be mistaken for a logical trajectory, the movie fools around with several barely formed ideas before settling on a plotline that feels like a bad X-Files rewrite. Even the peerless Moore has lost interest by the time the trite ending rolls around.

Review by Garreth Murphy