Is it Just Me or Do these two Posters look alike???
I am admittedly, NOT a Robert Pattinson fan. I haven't seen any of the "Twilight" movies, I don't remember him from Harry Potter and every time I have seen him he looks like he just rolled out of bed (not in a good way).
Having said that, I sat down to watch "Remember Me" with the lowest of expectations. I didn't leave thinking I had seen the next "East of Eden" but I didn't hate it either. What I walked away with was a brief look into what may appeal to so many young girls out there. Robert's character Tyler has brooding down pat and his forlorn looks out his apartment window attempt to make you feel his inner conflict. The problem?? His Tyler is not a put upon 17 year old on the brink of adulthood wondering what to do with his life. The fact that we are expected to empathize with his immature 22 year old tirades is insulting. Maybe it's a generational thing and I am ageing myself here, but if you want to see a much better depiction of young angst, rebellion and "daddy issues" go rent "East of Eden" and take in Robert's obvious inspiration for the depiction of this role, James Dean.
Now, for the story; the movie opens in Brooklyn in 1991. A young girl and her mother (an interesting cameo by Martha Plimpton) are waiting for the subway. An attempted armed robbery against them results in her mother being killed in front of her devastated daughter. Flash ahead 10 years and we meet that girl again, now a 21 year old played by Emilie De Ravin of "Lost" fame. We see a foreshadowing of events when they show Tyler and Allie in the same college class at NYU.
Tyler is a ladies man and we are led to believe can get any girls he chooses with his tousled hair and love of poetry. A night out at a local club with his sidekick Aiden (Tate Ellington) leads to a fight for Tyler who is misdirecting his anger at his father & would pick a fight with a trash can. The responding cop doesn't like Tylers attitude and roughs him up a bit, sending him and Aiden to jail to cool off. Aiden finds out by chance that the jerk cop has a daughter (have you guessed it yet?) and suggests that Tyler date and then dump her to get back at her old man. Of course that girl ends up being Allie and so the story begins.
The movie may have been marketed as their tale of young love, but it was the tale of Tyler and his 11 year old sister Caroline (standout Ruby Jerins) who really held my attention. I was charmed by her and their sibling banter. Tyler was most empathetic in these scenes, the protective and wise older brother who dotes on his sister after school. I would have liked more scenes of them together.
The real theme of the movie I thought was grief- how we all process and handle it differently. Allie it turns out is just as damaged by her mothers death as Tyler is by his brothers suicide at 22 who he idolized. This gives them a bond and a way into each others world.
The dad Tyler now detests and blames for his families unraveling is played perfectly by Pierce Brosnan who's own grief is disguised by his aloof demeanor and deep pockets. He bails Tyler out of jail not once but twice during the movie.
At 112 minutes, it had my attention throughout & I didn't predict the ending (which I won't ruin). This in and of itself is worth the price of admission sometimes (in this case though a matinee, not a full price show aftr 5).
The last few somber minutes served as a reminder to me how one event can burn itself into your memory making it impossible to forget.
Final Score = A good excuse to buy popcorn and sit in the dark, but don't pay full price
Having said that, I sat down to watch "Remember Me" with the lowest of expectations. I didn't leave thinking I had seen the next "East of Eden" but I didn't hate it either. What I walked away with was a brief look into what may appeal to so many young girls out there. Robert's character Tyler has brooding down pat and his forlorn looks out his apartment window attempt to make you feel his inner conflict. The problem?? His Tyler is not a put upon 17 year old on the brink of adulthood wondering what to do with his life. The fact that we are expected to empathize with his immature 22 year old tirades is insulting. Maybe it's a generational thing and I am ageing myself here, but if you want to see a much better depiction of young angst, rebellion and "daddy issues" go rent "East of Eden" and take in Robert's obvious inspiration for the depiction of this role, James Dean.
Now, for the story; the movie opens in Brooklyn in 1991. A young girl and her mother (an interesting cameo by Martha Plimpton) are waiting for the subway. An attempted armed robbery against them results in her mother being killed in front of her devastated daughter. Flash ahead 10 years and we meet that girl again, now a 21 year old played by Emilie De Ravin of "Lost" fame. We see a foreshadowing of events when they show Tyler and Allie in the same college class at NYU.
Tyler is a ladies man and we are led to believe can get any girls he chooses with his tousled hair and love of poetry. A night out at a local club with his sidekick Aiden (Tate Ellington) leads to a fight for Tyler who is misdirecting his anger at his father & would pick a fight with a trash can. The responding cop doesn't like Tylers attitude and roughs him up a bit, sending him and Aiden to jail to cool off. Aiden finds out by chance that the jerk cop has a daughter (have you guessed it yet?) and suggests that Tyler date and then dump her to get back at her old man. Of course that girl ends up being Allie and so the story begins.
The movie may have been marketed as their tale of young love, but it was the tale of Tyler and his 11 year old sister Caroline (standout Ruby Jerins) who really held my attention. I was charmed by her and their sibling banter. Tyler was most empathetic in these scenes, the protective and wise older brother who dotes on his sister after school. I would have liked more scenes of them together.
The real theme of the movie I thought was grief- how we all process and handle it differently. Allie it turns out is just as damaged by her mothers death as Tyler is by his brothers suicide at 22 who he idolized. This gives them a bond and a way into each others world.
The dad Tyler now detests and blames for his families unraveling is played perfectly by Pierce Brosnan who's own grief is disguised by his aloof demeanor and deep pockets. He bails Tyler out of jail not once but twice during the movie.
At 112 minutes, it had my attention throughout & I didn't predict the ending (which I won't ruin). This in and of itself is worth the price of admission sometimes (in this case though a matinee, not a full price show aftr 5).
The last few somber minutes served as a reminder to me how one event can burn itself into your memory making it impossible to forget.
Final Score = A good excuse to buy popcorn and sit in the dark, but don't pay full price
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I like your scoring system. Even if the best part of the movie is the popcorn, at least I'll have that. :-)
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