Remember Me

I was enjoying Remember Me for the first 90 minutes, I really was. I wasn't expecting much after the generally abysmal reviews it received upon its cinematic release, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I was watching. Up until a certain point, I found it to be smart and well written with great characters and a powerful emotional impact. And then it happened. Something which partially discredited the merits the film had rightfully earned over its first hour and a half of runtime. Something which almost forced me into disliking the film as a whole. Something so unnecessarily deranged that it's practically offensive. The ending.

By this, I do not mean that I was deeply saddened that the film was over, I mean that the last five minutes are so out-of-place with the rest of the movie that they almost entirely destroy everything that preceded them. Although I understand that the climax has a deep meaning about the unexpected, it's just so shocking and out of the blue that it sadly renders everything else which happens in what is otherwise a fantastic and heartfelt film rather pointless.

As much as I want to, I won't state what this outrageous and ridiculous finale consists of for obvious reasons. You'll have to see it for yourself to fully understand why I despise it so much. But anyway, I'm not going to ruin the movie for you. The ending will do that for itself. Tee hee.

Robert Pattinson is Tyler Hawkins, a brooding 21 year old whose life isn't really going anywhere. On one drunken night with his roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington), the walking hair gel commercial gets arrested along with his buddy by Sergeant Neil Craig (the always reliable Chris Cooper) for trying to stop a nasty fight outside a bar.

The next day, Aidan spots Neil dropping off his daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin) at their local university and dares Tyler to ask her out on a date and harshly dump her in order to get revenge for their wrongful arresting. It sounds like a 90's comedy. Tyler hesitantly goes for it and after some playful reluctance from Ally, the former's charms woo her into giving in.

The two then start dating, going to a carnival, a fancy restaurant, a bar, Tyler's apartment and eventually his bedroom. Bow chicka bow wow. Soon enough, Tyler begins to fall for this young woman, as does she for him, which of course causes complications with her overprotective father.

It's hard to watch Pattinson and not think about his bloodsucking part in the teen-favourite Twilight saga which lifted him to mega fame. I've always thought of him as the most talented actor in the popular franchise, and although I wouldn't call his performance in Remember Me a remarkable one, he is convincing enough in the rebellious role. It's pretty clear he's trying to stretch his acting legs here, which is fairly admirable and he certainly succeeds to a significant extent.

De Ravin manages to give a strong performance alongside Pattinson, with whom she shares much chemistry. Her character Ally is somewhat independent in nature, despite her domineering father, which of course makes her a very likable young woman.

The supporting cast is impressive enough with each of their characters explored in an effective manner. You can't go wrong with the ever-glorious Chris Cooper, nor can you with Pierce Brosnan who plays Tyler's business obsessed father, Charles, with whom Tyler has an estranged relationship. There's also Tate Ellington as the usually annoying, typical, highly outspoken best friend but there's something about Ellington which removes him from the obnoxious category this sort of character more often than not falls into.

Technically, the film is brilliant. Allen Coulter's direction is rather enchanting and Will Fetters' script is a secure one filled with fleshed-out characters and nicely-flowing dialogue. It's also strong on an emotional level as I found myself caring about each of these characters and, for the most part, I was interested in where the film would take them.

I also found the opening scene to be strikingly powerful, starting off my unforeseen respect for the film. It depicts the murder of Ally's mother (Martha Plimpton) at the hands of two muggers, which eleven year old Ally (Caitlyn Rund) unfortunately witnesses. With the way the sequence is arranged, it just hit me with an emotional impact which many films I've watched tend to fail at.

Aside from a few cliches, Remember Me is nothing short of well-made. It's a family drama with romance as its main fuel, and it's one which is capable of portraying emotions in a wonderfully moving fashion. It's just such a shame that the ending is so contrived and shameful because before it occurred I was going to award the film with eight points out of ten. I'd advise you to wait for the 90 minute mark and switch the DVD off, pretending that the film simply ends there. It'll be a much more satisfying conclusion than what was intended.

6/10