Common Sense Media Review
Creepy thriller not for faint of heart.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
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The Forgotten
What's the Story?
In THE FORGOTTEN, Telly (Julianne Moore) mourns her son Sam, who died along with five other children on a plane to summer camp fourteen months before. Her therapist, Dr. Munce (Gary Sinise), that she still spends time every day going through Sam's dresser drawer, watching him in home movies on video, looking at him in photographs. Dr. Munce tells her that it's just "memory, doing its job." While Telly's memory is failing her when it comes to everyday issues, she thinks of Sam every minute. Dr. Munce tells her that "sometimes the mind needs help in letting a thing go." But Telly does not want help. Then, her husband Jim (Anthony Edwards) tells her something shocking. There never was a Sam. Telly has been mentally ill, suffering from "paramnesia" since her miscarriage. Jim and Dr. Munce have been trying to lead her gradually back to reality. All external evidence of Sam has disappeared and no one remembers him. Who should Telly believe? She trusts her husband and doctor. But somehow she believes what she remembers, even though it seems to make no sense.
Is It Any Good?
The Forgotten does a pretty good job of creating the atmosphere early on, keeping us as unbalanced and unsure of what to believe as Telly is. But then the plot goes off in a direction that is so nutty, even by movie standards, that it is just plain silly, leaving so many holes that it knocks us out of that nice creepy atmosphere and into oh-come-off-it-land. It feels like the screenwriters had no idea where to go and so just randomly spun the wheel of movie genres to pick an ending. They should have spun again.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how we know whether our memories are accurate. What can we do to make sure we remember the things that are important to us?
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 24, 2004
- On DVD or streaming : January 18, 2005
- Cast : Anthony Edwards , Gary Sinise , Julianne Moore
- Director : Joseph Ruben
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Columbia Tristar
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 90 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : intense thematic material, some violence and brief language
- Last updated : March 14, 2020
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