Synopsis
Julianne Moore plays Telly, who, fourteen months after the death of her son in a plane crash,is still in deep mourning, obsessively looking at pictures and videotapes of the boy. Then thepictures disappear, and no one believes that she ever had a son. She tracks down Dominic West,who lost a daughter in the accident, but doesn’t remember her existence. Moore makes himremember, and then the two are suddenly being pursued by the NSA.
SPOILER ALERT. Well, not really, th…ugh much was made of the “twist” in the pans thatthe film received. Barely thirty minutes into the film, we glimpse our first UFO, and the word“abduction” is used, so this “surprise” is really just the first plot point. We’re very much in X-Files territory here, and while no new ground is broken, and there are more plot holes than inan inaugural address, the pace is quick, and some of the effects and set pieces are very startling.Moore is an actor who makes a film seem more intelligent than it is simply by showing up.Clocking in at an economical 91 minutes, this is really nothing more than a prettified B-picture,and works efficiently at that level, if you can get past the saccharine nature of its centraltheme.
Audio
The left-right separation is strong, and there is some nice placement going on in thatdepartment. There aren’t a heck of a lot of surround effects, but the ones that are present are veryatmospheric (blowing wind and so forth). The dialogue is crisp and clear, and the music has asuitably big, ominous feel.
Video
The transfer is, for the most part, superb. The colours are strong, as are the flesh tones,contrasts and blacks. There is no grain or visible edge enhancement, and the image iswonderfully sharp. The one misstep is that some of the night scenes are just a hair on the murkyside. Thus, the bit effect moment that was shown in all the trailers is rather hard to make outhere.
Special Features
Director Joseph Ruben and writer Gerald DiPego present a smart, informative commentary,dealing not just with the nuts-and-bolts of the production but the ideas behind the creativechoices. “Remember The Forgotten” is a decent enough featurette, and is much betterthan the purely promotional “On the Set” featurette. There are two deleted scenes and analternate ending, and the movie can also be viewed with this footage incorporated. The alternateending is more psychological, the theatrical one more spectacular, but the ultimate conclusion ismuch the same. The teaser, theatrical trailer, and 9 other trailers are also present. The menu’smain screen, intro and transitions are animated and scored.
Closing Thoughts
You’ll start forgetting it almost immediately, but this is a fun-enough time-waster. No more,though.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentaries
- “Remembering The Forgotten” Featurette
- Making-of Featurette
- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending
- Alternate Cut of Film
- Trailers