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Remember Me - 2010

Where to begin.  Absolutely disappointing...granted, there are some profound messages that came through in some parts of the movie.  But one can also find profoundness in the quotes on Starbucks cups.  The protagonist is Tyler (aka cute Robert...yes yes I am jumping on that bandwagon too...sue me!) who plays an emo character trying to cope with a recent loss in the family.  The movie attempts to woo the audience with Tyler's philosophical banter and his unique habit of journal writing. His father, played by Pierce Brosnan, who's British gone New York accent is one of the few highlights of the movie. Tyler often fulminates against his father, which becomes the subject of their frayed relationship. The younger sister, a precocious twelve year old is played by an adoring young actress who attracts the audience through her victimized innocence.  Tyler's love interest, played by beautiful Emilie De Ravin, is suppose to be a strong spirited young girl who typically helps Tyler cope with his situation, surprise surprise. But other than her piercing cerulean blue eyes, nothing about her character is prominent. Their love plays on the same beaten horse: boy falls in love, girl falls in love, boy reveals truth, girl is hurt and runs away, boy convinces girl of love, exploding fireworks of reunited love.  Remember Me deals with three different types of relationships: father son, brother sister, and lovers.  There might have been a friendship relationship? Who knows! Tyler's friend is a character that is no deeper than a soap dish. So naturally, if Tyler stands next to his friend, he will come off as an intellectual prince charming.    All in all, the characters of Remember Me fail to reach its hoped poignancy.

The movie isn't a total flop, but it dances awkwardly offbeat in comparison with movies like Life as a House or White Oleander, all having the same theme in common: the struggle of the protagonist with themselves and their loved ones. Remember Me hardly introduces any fresh points or conflicts. There is an abundance of cliche animosities and audacious actions that after 113 minutes of it can dangerously turn the movie into a forgettable endeavor.  Finally, the worse part of this movie, is its ending.


***Spoiler Alert*** (skip the red words to avoid spoiler) 


 If the character had died in any other way (i.e. get hit by a car, die the same way the mother did, etc.), the movie itself would actually not be too bad.  Whenever movie industries use historical events as part of their plots, they must be careful so as to not offend or disrespect the families who have lost loved ones during those events.  Whether or not Remember me has inappropriately used the events of 9/11 as a tasteless prop to enhance the point of the story is up for discussion.  


Being that there is always good in something bad, Remember me does have one theme that really puts a fine point on life: Live in the moment...which is something I strive to live by.  The movie begins with an amazing quote by Ghandi: Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.  When looking back on Remember Me, it is clear that this theme is told very well.  It's only a shame that this epiphanal message is smothered by the poor dialogue and  forgettable characters of Remember Me. Two stars.



Revolutionary Road - 2008

Once again, Sam Mendes successfully directs another film in which the main characters shamelessly bare the teeth that society tries so hard to hide.  No one is truly sane and those who are institutionalized are merely ones who say things that are only in people's minds.  The movie industry usually stops a story before it becomes the unbearable real life.  They only emphasize on the tip of the iceberg when it is the hidden ice below that is the true reality. But every once and awhile, there is a movie that has the audacity to show us what we are all afraid to admit.  With that said, Revolutionary Road is a story about a suburban couple, the Wheelers, in the 50's who entangles themselves into the conventional web of the mass, all who temporize their real dreams in order to fulfill their obligations.   Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet's exceptional performances create a complicated world in which each person struggles with themselves and one another.  As the movie progresses, you see each character  claw viciously at their lives in order to keep their precious last drips of sanity, only because they want more than just to exist: they want to live. The scary truth is: We can clearly see ourselves materialize as Frank and April Wheeler. 

"Plenty of people are onto the emptiness but it takes real guts to see the hopelessness." ...a quote from my favorite character of the movie: John Givings. Givings is the character from the mental asylum, who has undergone 37 treatments of the infamous electric shock therapy, the "not well" person of the movie...and yet his lips are licked with the most solemn truth. In some morbid way, he is the hero of Revolutionary Road.      

I imagine Revolutionary Road to be the sequel of Titanic.  Perchance, let us pretend that Jack and Rose made it together onto American soil, that their love did not go down with Titanic...if a movie was made of their lives post their honey moon phase on the ship, Revolutionary Road would be it (which I'm guessing, is why James Cameron killed off Jack's character so Rose wouldn't have to deal with reality later...).  Perfect love does not last.  It ends to the preconceived notion of obligations.        

I don't care if I'm conforming to the conventional mass by saying that Leonardo DiCaprio is among my most favorite actors.  In my opinion, DiCaprio's flawless portrayal of human agony is the very essence of true art.  Revolutionary Road is a movie everyone should see once.  A lot of what happens in this movie may appear as an exaggeration of human drudgeries, but in reality, it is an unfortunate unveiling of the mold that grows in the hidden crevices of our perfectly envisioned lives.