Friday, March 12, 2010
Remember Me: The Spoiler That Spoils Everything
Posted By Scott Renshaw on March 12, 2010, 12:20 PM
Out of respect for those who actually want to see the movie, I avoided revealing the ending of Remember Me in both my online capsule and my weekend movie preview segment this morning on Fox 13. But for those who have no intention of going, I'm ready to spill the beans -- and to explain why it turns a merely mediocre romantic drama into something utterly inexcusable.
SPOILERS begin here and now, so turn away if you don't want to know more. ---
Remember Me opens with a prologue set in 1991 Brooklyn, in which a young girl -- who grows up to be Emilie de Ravin's character -- witnesses the murder of her mother by muggers on a train platform. Flash forward to New York City "10 years later" -- which is only the first nudge as to the time frame for the story. Throughout the film, snippets of news broadcasts and other clues are dropped so that it becomes clear the film's events are all leading up to September 11, 2001. And what will be the tragic event that separates our young lovers? Robert Pattinson's character is visiting his father's office, which happens to be in one of the towers of the World Trade Center.
If you're paying attention at all while watching the film, you've got to see this coming. And waiting for this repugnant chunk of exploitation takes away any pleasure that could be gleaned from the film's minor successes (including a lovely performance by young Ruby Jerins as Pattinson's kid sister). There's simply no excuse for attempting to beef up the significance of a featherweight piece of star-cross'd lover piffle by making such a real-world disaster its "twist" ending. I watch a lot of movies -- and a lot of bad ones -- but this is one of the rare instances where I'd call the entire enterprise genuinely shameful. I can't wait to start reading the justifications and rationalizations from those involved.
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