The Forgotten (2004)
Directed by: Joseph Rubin
Premise: A mother (Julianne Moore) grieving the loss of her son is told by her psychiatrist (Gary Sinese) that all the memories of her son are made up.
What Works: All of the actors do a decent job with what they have been given to work with. Some of the cinematography is interesting.
What Doesn’t: The story is a mess. It has a compelling idea but that idea is not fleshed out dramatically. The conspiracy plot should be front and center but it has no structure. For this kind of story to work, the audience needs to be given clues. This makes the story go forward. Unfortunately, after Moore’s character realizes she might not be crazy the story grinds to a halt. The ending comes almost out of nowhere and feels very detached from the rest of the picture.
Bottom Line: The Forgotten feels like a really bad episode of the X-Files. It may make a good rental or party movie but it has little value to the conspiracy or science fiction genres.
Episode: #20 (September 26, 2004)