Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Remember Me

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Dark, disturbing romance not for Twilight's preteen fans.

Movie PG-13 2010 128 minutes
Remember Me Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 19 parent reviews

SG4
SG4 Adult
May 23, 2019
age 13+

Great movie

This was a great movie. I’ve watched it several times. Robert Pattinson is fantastic.
1 person found this helpful.
Suzana T.
Suzana T. Adult
February 27, 2018
age 13+

Touching

The first time I watched this film, I was 16. It brought me to tears and helped me to cope through a difficult time in my life. I was in the fourth grade when the climax of this film took place in reality. It's a film with a very deep zen lesson. It deals with love, death, and family trouble. It deals with relationships and taught me to not take the actions in my life for granted. It is one of my favorite films that is based off of a life that could potentially have been reality in our actual world. The opposite of Twilight in my opinion. Twilight was a fantasy romance film. This film is not a fantasy film. It's very connected to potential realities, makes for more logic. When families face loss sometimes it's hard for families to stay close, and continue to make memories, but this film shows families working through difficulties even if it's not completely peaceful all the time. I think it's a beautiful touching message.

This title has:

Great messages
1 person found this helpful.
See all 19 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Tyler (Robert Pattinson) is nearly 22, but he has no idea what he wants to do with his life. He audits classes at New York University, works part-time at a bookstore, regards his successful father (Pierce Brosnan) with contempt, and spends time nearly every day grieving his brother's suicide by writing letters to him in a leather-bound journal. After Tyler intercedes in a nasty street fight by pummeling the guys responsible, he ends up mouthing off to an NYPD detective (Chris Cooper), who roughs him up and arrests him. Tyler's superficial roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington) realizes the offending officer's daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin) goes to NYU with them, and convinces him to attempt to seduce her as karmic payback for the beat-down. Instead, Tyler starts to fall for Ally, who like him, still grieves over the violent death of a loved one. As their romantic relationship deepens, both Tyler and Ally deal with their daddy issues and help Tyler's 11-year-old sister Caroline (Ruby Jerins) with her own insecurities. Just when Tyler begins to heal, Ally discovers the truth about his connection with her father, and violence continues to threaten their happily ever after.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (19 ):
Kids say (41 ):

This is a confusing film; it's not difficult to understand, but it doesn't gel together as anything deeper than a shockingly gimmicky treatise on violence. It is not, despite what the trailers depict, just a romance, although there are romantic scenes thanks to the attractive leads. REMEMBER ME is more of a self-indulgent rumination on how various forms of violence and grief change people, from the intimate acts of suicide and a daughter's slap in the face to a cold-blooded murder and the collective horror of a terrorist attack. Unfortunately for viewers, director Allen Coulter and screenwriter Will Fetters don't have much of a vision other than building up to the shocking final 10 minutes, which, while gasp-inducing is a manipulative and unnecessary stunt.

Clearly Pattinson has practiced the brooding, downward gazing look of gorgeous young introverts. But as hard as Pattinson tries to sulk and simmer, cigarette in hand, he doesn't have the same edge as say Ryan Gosling or the late Heath Ledger or even his co-star de Ravin (for proof watch her fabulously creepy turn as Claire on Lost's final season). Pattinson isn't quite believable when he's punching a guy into a pulp or menacing a schoolgirl who made fun of his little sister. Of the two parent-child subplots, the de Ravin-Cooper relationship is so much better acted and developed. Brosnan, on the other hand, sports one of the worst Noo-Yawk accents ever captured on film, and as a result is hard to take seriously. The most entertaining supporting player is definitely Ellington as Pattinson's humorously verbose, jerk of a roommate. He is welcome, if at times annoying, comic relief.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the theme of violence in the movie. How does violence affect each of the characters?

  • Is it difficult to see Pattinson as someone other than Edward? Who has been most successful in staying believable in roles outside the Twilight universe -- Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, or Tyler Lautner?

  • How did you feel about the twist ending? Was it shocking, or did you think it's still too soon to incorporate into a movie?

  • Both Tyler and Ally have problems with their fathers. Who has the stronger relationship? Is what he does forgivable? How do the two fathers react to grief differently?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate