Not Forgotten

The degree to which Not Forgotten fizzles out is ultimately rather disappointing, as the movie boasts a familiar yet promising opening half hour that’s elevated by the strong performances and atmospheric visuals. The storyline follows mild-mannered banker Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) as he’s forced to delve into New Mexico’s seedy underbelly after his daughter (Chloe Moretz’s Toby) is kidnapped, with the perilous situation exacerbated by a series of revelations involving Jack’s mysterious (and surprisingly violent) past. Director Dror Soref generally does a nice job of establishing a vibe of overt creepiness, as the filmmaker perpetuates the movie’s foreboding atmosphere by offering up a number of ominous elements (ie what’s the deal with Toby’s subtly sinister stepmother?) There’s consequently little doubt that the film’s exceedingly deliberate pace is initially not as problematic as one might’ve expected, yet it’s just as clear that the movie begins to demonstrably run out of steam once it passes the one-hour mark – with the underwhelming vibe exacerbated by Soref’s decision to place an increasingly prominent emphasis on sequences of a patience-testing and time-killing nature. Not Forgotten‘s eventual transformation into a thriller involving cults and devil worshippers is, as a result, nothing short of disastrous, with the narrative’s tediousness preventing the viewer from working up any enthusiasm for the various twists that close the proceedings – which is a shame, really, given the inclusion of several undeniably compelling interludes within the film’s latter half (ie Jack brutally works over a suspect with a broken beer bottle).

*1/2 out of ****

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