CNS Movie Review: Remember Me

Remember Me

By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Despite its title, "Remember Me" (Summit) is a less than memorable romantic drama set in the New York of the early 2000s. Nor is its premise particularly original, since it traces a relationship that begins for all the wrong reasons only to blossom into a genuine and passionate attachment.

Things get off to a fractious start when angst-ridden twentysomething New York bohemian Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) has an altercation with a no-nonsense police officer, Sgt. Neil Craig (Chris Cooper), leaving the slacker with a badly bruised face, a brief stint in jail and an interest in revenge.

When chance brings Tyler and Craig's daughter, New York University student Ally (Emilie de Ravin), into contact, Tyler, egged on by his roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington), approaches her for a date, presumably -- though somewhat improbably -- hoping to humiliate her father by stringing Ally along, then dumping her.

Instead, of course, the two get starry-eyed, bonding over mutual putdowns, cutesy practical jokes and -- far more seriously -- the personal tragedies that continue to haunt each of them, namely the early death of Tyler's brother and the violent mugging and murder of Ally's mother, which Ally witnessed as a young girl.

Along with portraying Tyler's father Charles (Pierce Brosnan) as a far from credible caricature of a work-obsessed, emotionally indifferent, but highly successfully lawyer, and glamorizing Tyler and Ally's premature sexual union, as well as their eventual shacking up, Will Fetters' script, as directed by Allen Coulter, moves toward a climax related to real-life events that many will find distastefully manipulative.

The film contains cohabitation, passionate but nongraphic premarital sexual activity, a couple of uses of profanity, some sexual references and jokes, including a promiscuous character, frequent smoking, at least one drug reference and a few rough and numerous crude terms. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

- - -

Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

END

Copyright (c) 2010 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250

FIND A MOVIE

   Looking for a
   movie review?
   Click "Movie List"
   button above

   OR

   Enter a keyword
   from the movie
   title in the box
   below and click
   the "Search"
   button.

Classifications
and
ratings?