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| The Forgotten | 
| Category: Movie
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  278 reviews
Sales Rank: 7288
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 95 minutes
ASIN: B000T4349G
Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 2004
Release Date: November 25, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
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| Customer Reviews:
I swear I saw this on The X-Files once. February 21, 2006
This is going to sound like a pun, but do you remember the commercials for this? There was this one part in every trailer for The Forgotten, when some lady talking to Julianne Moore, then BEING LAUNCHED THE HECK INTO THE SKY FOR SEEMINGLY NO REASON. I don't care who you are- you had that "whatthehell" look on your face when you saw that, admit it. If anything, I was going to see this movie for that reason alone. Well, I finally did see The Forgotten, and while the scene I just mentioned is still cool a year later, not much else of the movie ever comes as close to that one great moment. Don't get me wrong- I'm not some action loving movie viewer: I love good plots, character development, and twist endings as long as they aren't forced. But The Forgotten starts out with a good concept, then becomes a bad episode of The X-Files about 40 minutes in. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. But there were too many small problems going on with it to keep me from ever really enjoying it. From the overkill of the same flashback being shown over and over, to the feds trying to arrest the lead characters, The Forgotten had too much going on for its own good. Not that I got lost in it or anything, but it seems like every time something new happened, it was a cheap escape in order to avoid explaining what just happened prior.
Telly Paretta is a (former?) mother: her son Sam was killed when his plane crashed 14 months ago. There were a few other children on the same plane, and she can't seem to move on with her life. She goes into his old room frequently, and looks at old books and photos, grieving over the loss. Her husband and therapist are both very patient and understanding of her, knowing that post-traumatic experiences can really do a number on people. Slowly, pictures that once had Sam begin to change: family pictures of Telly, her husband and Sam no longer have Sam in them, but remain looking the same otherwise. Books that he wrote in are now blank. Even the tapes they recorded of Sam have been completely erased. Naturally, she flips out and attacks her husband, asking why he got rid of everything. He says they never had a son- that she had a miscarriage, and her shrink backs this up, saying that she imagined the entire thing due to a psychotic break. Of course, this doesn't help her train of thought, and she seeks someone who she vaguely remembers, Ash Correll- someone who had a daughter who was on the same flight as Sam, but he denies ever having one. Their meeting doesn't go over well, and he calls the cops on her, but not before she uncovers evidence that he did in fact, have a daughter. The two team up, and try to find out why their children are being erased from memory. Telly has a strong mother instinct, and thinks Sam is alive, thanks to there not being any newspaper clips in the library that deal with the plane crash. Things get even stranger when the NSA begin to follow them around, along with a guy who never blinks, and gets run over by cars, getting back up like it was nothing. And when Telly's own husband forgets who she is, that's the last straw.
Anyone who's ever lost anyone suddenly will be able to relate to Telly. Having that guilt that someone's passed on, even if you had nothing to do with their initial death, it's something we all go through at some point in our lives. They did a great job establishing that feeling in the beginning of the movie. Ash's loss would've been more meaningful if the guy playing him could act. He rarely shows any expression on his face, even when Telly pours cold water on him to wake him up. Sure, he can yell a lot, but he's got a ways to go. I'm also wondering why they got Anthony Edwards from ER to play Telly's husband, as he becomes a mere background character after the first 20 minutes or so. Amusingly, his character here is almost identical to that of his ER one. Enough of that though. The movie's fall begins once the strange man that doesn't blink appears. At first, you'll think it's Sam, who grew up somehow in only 14 months, but it ends up being something even worse, and leads the film into "bad X-Files plot" territory. I have to agree with a lot of people on how often Telly has flashbacks to Sam. Obviously, he existed if she keeps doing it, we have no reason to doubt her. Other problems include a 40-something book editor outsmarting and running federal agents. I don't care if people think, "those who want it the most will do better", this could not happen in real life, which this movie tries to seem like at first. And you gotta love the James Bond villain, who reveals everything before he's offed. Sadly, the cool instances where people fly into the air don't make up for the rest of the movie (though they still come out of nowhere and catch you off-guard, along with a car crash). And I have to give some props to Julianne Moore for looking this good at 44. She does look stunning, and even gets a scene in her panties, as little as that has to do with the movie or this review.
My god are the flashbacks some of the worst in picture quality I've seen. BRIGHT orange plagues each flashback, while it's "stylish", it could've been handled better. The exterior shots look great, but night scenes suffer from lack of detail (Telly and Ash's escape from the feds). It's above average as far as everything else goes. It won't take away from your viewing pleasure. Get this- the audio includes subtitles in English, French, Korean, Chinese and Thai. No Spanish? Weird. Anyway, everything sounds great for the most part, but this movie is more dialogue than explosions and heavy soundtrack. There were a few times when the voices got quiet all of a sudden, but returned to normal, which threw me off. Overall, everything is clearly heard, but you won't have to turn up the surround for this one.
When selecting "Play Movie", you can choose the original theatrical cut, or the extended cut, with an extra 8 minutes and [better] alternate ending. If you've seen the extended cuts on the Meet the Fockers and Ray discs, then expect the horrid pauses before extended scenes here like the ones for those. The commentary with the director and writer is atrocious- they sound like they're drugged up versions of Ben Stein. I listened to this after a long nap, feeling energized afterward, and they almost made me fall back asleep somehow. This commentary is only on the theatrical cut, and they never mention anything regarding the extended version. Usually, those cuts are the ones that get the treatment. They end up watching the movie instead of offering insight more than a few times, and what they do talk about doesn't matter. How they point out "alien noises" in the backgrounds isn't something I was dying to learn about. Skip this commentary. On the Set: The Making of The Forgotten is the usual talking heads featurette where everyone goes on about how great it was to work on the movie, and some behind the scenes footage. There are two deleted scenes with the alternate ending as well. The deleted scenes don't add much, but The Kiss was rightfully removed. It seemed so forced. Remembering the Forgotten is a 20 minute featurette going over the initial idea for the film to its development, along with an inside look at the special effects for the more memorable scenes. This is the best special feature aside from the alternate ending, which makes for a shoddy dvd overall.
"There would be no suffering at all, if only you would forget him" is a powerful quote from the movie, and while it's true, I don't think any of us would be able to do that with someone we've lost. If the movie were to stick more with that theme instead of going off to other things, it would've been something more. Instead, The Forgotten is something I'm sure to forget about after a few months.
Strange setup but I like it ;D February 6, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was told this movie was not worth to watch but after watching it, I had to say I'm kind of like it. Strange plot but I like it.
On September 24th everything you've experienced, everything you've known, never happened. January 16, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this DVD because it was in a special deal, and I wanted the two other films - I've since had to sell one of them on, so I dunno what I was expecting from this!
Forgotten is a very strange movie, seemingly about the death of a child, but actually about something completely different. I have to give due to Julianne Moore on making this film actually work - with a different actress, it could have died a death. (Nicole Kidman was originally rumoured to have the lead role, do we really think that would have worked? A bit too Others-ish I think.)
The film is based around a very elaborate mind game, which does get a bit confusing after a while, but on a second viewing, you could probably see things starting to happen, which will make more sense as the film carries on. Telly (Julianne) being able to taste coffee, and wanting to know where hers was, despite not having coffee that morning, thinking that she did have a pen in her bag, when she didn't, and thinking her car was parked in one place, when it was parked in another. There's an awful lot that could have come straight out of an X-Files episode, and sometimes it does feel like it should have stayed as an episode, rather than being stretched to a full length movie.
There are some fantastic scare moments in this, including people getting snatched off the ground and a car crash scene that works so well, I actually screamed. Thank God I wasn't holding my drink at the time, I believe I would have soaked myself. I got another shock at the end, as Linus Roache, who appears with very little dialogue, actually gave me the fright of my life, as he looked an older version of someone I know. It actually gave me shivers up my spine. (Interesting little fact, all the characters remain in black, apart from their memories, up until the end.)
There's a little bit of a romantic subplot thrown in there, which works, but doesn't in a way. It feels wrong to be thrown into this movie, while Telly is desperately trying to figure out what's going on in her life.
The film seems to end, and doesn't really end up explaining itself in any way whatsoever. You're left confused, wondering what on earth happened, and especially what happened to the people who were snatched off the ground! Where did they go?
If you want a scare, and a curiousity-rousing movie, then go for this. Otherwise leave it well alone, cos you'll end up more puzzled than you did at the start.
 Worst "Thriller" Ever January 12, 2006
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
The Forgotten is a film that I was really hyped up to see when it came out in the movie theater. I went in with high expectations. Boy, was that a mistake. I walked away feeling like I'd wasted so much of my brain potential on an undeveloped, poorly written movie. My biggest gripes:
1. Julianne Moore's character. I had a problem with the fact that she seemed to be the ONLY one who would not forget that she had a child. Why wouldn't she forget? Did she love her child more than any of the other parents who did forget, including her husband? What was the issue?
2. The Aliens were conducting this experiment (possibly for years) and one incident disrupts it, and boom..the experiment is over! So based on one woman, what the Aliens have learned is .."the bond between parent and child cannot be forgotten"? And testing is kaput, from one failed case?
3. We know that the children come back in the end, but what about those such as Alfre Woodard? Does she come back as well? At what about the children besides Julianne's and the other character with the daughter? If the experiment failed, and their children are returned, are the other children besides theirs returned as well? The film never explained. It never explained "who" or "what" abducted the children, you are just left to "assume" that they are aliens.
My bottom line is, that if you haven't seen this movie, then you don't need to. I know I'll never watch it again.
 Out "X-Files" the X-Files! January 3, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This film delivers a slick thriller, touching on all those nerves that the X-Files used to... paranoia, hidden mysteries and conspiracies, and a "true believer" who has to convince a skeptic of a startling reality.
The story is very ominous, very mysterious. It will keep you engaged up to the end.
Where this movie trumps the cynical X-Files is that it is a positive, life affirming triumph of good over evil... not just a depressing wallow or pity party. well done!
Jeff Messenger, the author of the novel "The Shroud of Torrington."
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