Give me back my son!

The Forgotten (2004)
Sony Pictures presents a Joseph Ruben film, starring Julianne Moore. Written by Gerald Di Pego. 96m. PG-13 for intense thematic material, some violence and brief language.

2 stars

It seems that screenwriter Gerald Di Pego is wholly unconcerned with mundane, day-to-day human interactions. Like a veritable Fox Mulder, he wants to believe in superpowers (“Phenomenon”), guardian angels (“Angel Eyes”) and now, extraterrestrials.

This predisposition to the otherworldly isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for those of us still trying to cope with “The X-Files” being off the air. But there’s a lot of science fiction being written and filmed these days and most, like “The Forgotten,” aren’t truly memorable - excuse the pun.

This film’s unique catch isn’t its fascination with extraterrestrial control over a human population, but something much more grounded in reality: a mother’s strong affinity for her child.

It’s been 14 months since Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) lost her 9-year-old son, Sam, in a plane crash. While her husband, Jim (Anthony Edwards), has resorted to using work to distract himself, Telly has been crippled by the loss. She sees psychiatrist Dr. Munce (Gary Sinise) to little avail and her world is turned upside down when she starts inexplicably losing physical memories - photographs, videotapes, and a scrapbook - of Sam.

Adding to her nervous dementia is Jim, who has forgotten their offspring entirely. Instead of questioning her own sanity, Telly remains indignant that she had a son. Her feeling is further catalyzed by Ash Cornell (Dominic West), an ex-hockey player that is convinced his daughter, Lauren, also died on that same plane crash.

Together, the two work to investigate how anyone could have erased physical traces of their children. Their answers come in a very “X-Files” manner: opening up more questions than answers and with all signs pointing to some sort of alien involvement that can’t be explained with normal logic.

Oh sure, there’s the usual government meddling that is rife with menacing looking agents who can’t reveal anything they probably don’t even know. But “The Forgotten” is little concerned with its characters. Telly may well have been a single mother for the disservice they do to the character of Jim. And a curious New York City detective (Alfre Woodard) is given little to do as well, making her role seem - at more than one time - like a sacrificial lamb.

Thankfully, Di Pego avoids the pitfall of even lesser movies by keeping Telly and Ash’s relationship strictly platonic. As the very essence of non-sexuality, it wouldn’t have made sense for Telly to succumb to the temptations that this transference with Ash created. The 96 minute runtime reflects the relative tautness of this wannabe horror/thriller.

Perhaps the film’s greatest contribution is its ability to provide enough shocking moments to come with its own warning label. The stingers are unrelenting, from a brilliantly staged car accident audiences won’t see coming (even now that I’ve told you) to the lightning-quick summoning of individuals by the aliens. Audiences may get a chuckle out of the final confrontation, although it’s meant to frighten them. That is inevitably the way some of these scenes play out in movies, however.

I can’t in good conscience recommend people attend “The Forgotten” in the theaters, but I can give it the same recommendation that I gave “The Ring” - another horror/thriller with a couple of shocks: Put on the popcorn, invite a couple of friends over, turn off the lights and get lost for an hour and a half.