The Forgotten DVD: Review By justincase

Telly (Julianne Moore) is a young mother who has lost her son, she believes, in a tragic plane crash. After 14 months, she is still holding memories of the boy and cherishing the 9 years they spent together.

She begins to question her memories, however, after everyone (including her husband and neighbors) believe that she's made up the son and the tragic loss...simply "manufactured memories". Her shrink, Dr. Munce (Gary Sinise) is low-key and reassuring, even as he tries to help her "make a breakthrough" to realize that she's made it all up. But the memories are too fresh, too real and too painful.

As Telly becomes estranged from her husband, she sets out to discover what really happened to her boy -- and why no one, even his own father, remembers. Telly reaches out to the father of a girl that was lost on the same plane crash, Ash Correll (Dominic West). Telly and Ash dodge the feds, the local cops and something of which they are in no way certain as they attempt to learn the truth.

Tragic empathy becomes disbelief as the story unfolds. If you're not prepared for a bit of the paranormal or extra-terrestrial (I won't say, for sure, which -- so as to avoid the spoiler), this film will be a stretch. I settled into this looking for a vast conspiracy. I got it. I was looking for a taught psycho-thriller. I got it. I also, however, had to bite off a big chunk of awww.... what the hell?

In the end, though, the film was entertaining and did have me on the edge of my seat for a good bit of the 90+ minute running-time.

One unintended and amazing consequence, though, was that as I turned off the power to my system, I found myself discussing the growth of our own family in stunned disbelief. I mean, we have 3 kids, all 4 and under. That means for the better part of just over 4 years, we've been watching our little ones grow, laugh, smile, learn to speak, learn to walk, potty train and all the cool stuff that parents enjoy. Reflecting on all the long, cuddly naps, the toothless grins, the playing ball in the So. Cal. sunshine, the bedtime stories and splashy-baths, we realize it has all gone so fast. These last 4+ years have just whirled by and now our 4 year-old is a remarkably smart and beautiful little girl. Our son is athletic and witty and charming and our youngest daughter now crawls, sits, laughs and plays along with her older siblings.

As we thought back on Telly and her quest to cling to the memories of her young son, we realize how hard it can be to truly think-back and remember all those special little memories we create as our kids grow. If you have kids and if this movie doesn't make you reflect on them and wish your memories were a bit more clear, I'll be totally amazed. My wife and I sat and discussed these very things for well over an hour and deep into the night.

At the end of it, I come away with these few thoughts for you...

If you don't have a video camera... buy one (and use it). If you don't spend enough time with your kids... change that. If you feel like you are losing your grasp on all those precious memories of watching your own kids grow up... get out your photo album and refresh them. If you travel too much for work and find yourself away from your family all the time... find a new job -- the old one's not worth it.

We all work too damn hard and find ourselves too damn tired just too damn often. Don't let your life with your kids pass you by.

Cherish it

This release includes two versions of the film: the original theatrical release and an extended cut with deleted scenes and an alternate ending.

I watched both endings (I couldn't watch the entire "extended cut" to pick up the extra scenes). I actually prefer a blend of the two. Both are fine, standing alone, but I think if you watch both of them, you'll see what I mean.

Other than that, I didn't see anything else available for special features on the disc other than the Audio Commentary with Joseph Ruben (director) and Geral DiPego (writer). I didn't listen to the commentary on this one. I know... I should have. But sometimes it is too late at night to take-in everything on every disc when I finish. So... If I do check it out, i'll post a follow-up here.

I know that the promotional materials tout additional materials like:

"The Making of The Forgotten"

"Remembering the Forgotten"

I figure the featurettes must be stashed as Easter Eggs, because I certainly didn't see them. Yeah, it was late. Yeah, I was tired. Yeah, I watched both endings. So... maybe I was too sleepy to find the featurettes. I'll look again and, if found, I'll post my thoughts on them here in a follow-up.

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Follow-up

Okay, so I did, finally locate the other features. The reason I didn't see them is that the producers of the DVD gave us only a little (barely noticeable) carat to "turn the page" to the rest of the features. Yes, I'm an idio... Yes, the follwing items are on the disc:

On The Set - The Making of The Forgotten

Here, we get more of the same. The making of is something that is part art and part science. Promote and inform. Here we have it in spades. Extended cuts from the trailers and promos that keep you engaged and excited. Interview snippets with the cast and crew that give you just a bit of background. Basically, this is HBO "pulp". Decent enough, though. We could have used a bit more about the "heart and soul" of the story... but who am I to complain.

Remembering the Forgotten

A look at the story and how it came about. The filmmakers talk about the story development, the locations, the emotions behind the film and the other aspects of the filming. A decent little featurette, it is pretty standard to what you'd expect and is somewhat interchangeable with the previous featurette. Come to think of it, they should have just combined these and left us with one longer, more complete featurette.

Deleted Scenes

There are some interesting aspects in this section. There is even more to be had in the full extended version of the film. Check that out, instead...it is a better investment of your time.

The film is dark and fairly bleak. The color scheme certainly adds to the hopelessness of Moore's plight. Presented widescreen, we get a great resolution picture with no noticeable pixelation.

There is a lot of great sound on this disc. Even without the music, we get a lot of F/X power out of the 5.1 digital audio. Play this one through your system. Crank it up. It will blow your roof off!

Simple Amray case with an image of Julianne Moore running through the streets, clearly distraught. Simple and with blue hues, a bit mysterious. The back contains images from the film and the descriptions. Pretty standard.

A good bit of entertainment, I found that this film provoked more thoughts after it ended than it did during its running time. Pick it up. I'd recommend it as one to add to your collection -- for more than the entertainment value alone.