Susan Granger’s review of “The Forgotten” (Columbia TriStar)
So how do you explain a decidedly mediocre movie – part soap-opera, part sci-fi – that grosses $22 million on its opening weekend? A good – no, brilliant – marketing campaign. Superbly edited promos for Julianne Moore’s thriller intrigued audiences enough to propel the box-office and to generate curiosity – and that’s what was able to combat adverse word-of-mouth. Julianne Moore plays grief-stricken Telly Paretta who is still mourning the tragic death of her eight year-old son Sam in a plane crash more than a year previous to the beginning of the story. But then peculiar things begin to happen. Sam’s mementos mysteriously disappear. Her husband (Anthony Edwards) and psychiatrist (Gary Sinese) try to convince Telly that she never had a son, that she’s suffering from “paramesia,” brought on by post-traumatic stress. Is Telly delusional, along with Ash Correll (Dominic West), her alcoholic, ex-hockey star neighbor whose young daughter died in the same accident? Or is there some bizarre conspiracy? It’s a compelling psychological premise. Problem is: screenwriter Gerald Di Pego (“Angel Eyes”) and director Joseph Ruben (“Sleeping With the Enemy”) concentrate all their creative energy on the suspenseful set-up for what turns out to be a dreary, ultimately disappointing, “X-Files” inspired, supernatural whodunit. Somehow, aliens, spacecraft and suspicious-looking NSA agents get involved – all to prove the tenacity of a mother’s love. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Forgotten” is an illogical, murky 2. “I’m having a National Enquirer moment,” quips Ash when he hears Telly’s sinister abduction theory. We all were. Forget it.
