The Forgotten

Name: The Forgotten
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: September 24, 2004
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 43
Cast: Dominic West, Julianne Moore

2004

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 375 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 375 Ratings

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The Forgotten

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: September 24, 2004 | PG-13

Starring: Dominic West, Julianne Moore

Summary: What if you were told that every moment you experienced and every memory you held dear never happened? In this psychological thriller, Telly Paretta (Moore) is tormented by the memory of her eight-year-old son's death in a plane crash 14 months ago. While trying to work through her grief, she is informed by her psychiatrist (Sinise) thatWhat if you were told that every moment you experienced and every memory you held dear never happened? In this psychological thriller, Telly Paretta (Moore) is tormented by the memory of her eight-year-old son's death in a plane crash 14 months ago. While trying to work through her grief, she is informed by her psychiatrist (Sinise) that she is suffering from delusions, that her son never existed and she is fabricating his memories. (Revolution Studios)… Expand

Director: Joseph Ruben

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 91 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

William Arnold

It struck me as the most exciting and original Hollywood thriller, occult or otherwise, since "The Sixth Sense." Read full review

Sid Smith

The stylish and imaginative imagery in director Joseph Ruben's film, not to mention the parapsychological twists and mysteries, evoke the work of director M. Night Shyamalan. Read full review

Rick Groen

There is nothing worse than a thriller that doesn't play fair... The Forgotten is just a big, fat, obvious cheater. Read full review

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Ultimately only Moore, with her eyes always half-damp and voice half-cracked and body language half-mad, keeps the movie on the ground, when it too often threatens to fly into the thin air, where the audience would laugh it off the screen. Read full review

Empire Will Lawrence

A premise neutered by daft supernatural shenanigans, which raise as many questions as they answer. Read full review

Mark Holcomb

The resolution is as surprise-free as it is improbably sunny. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

It's "The Sixth Sense" as nonsense, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" without the sunshine. Or the mind.

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User Reviews

TinaA.

Jun 1, 2006

Are you people insane? This movie was amazing, and one of the best thrillers ever! Ms. Moore was spectacular!

1 of 2 users found this helpful

Bask

Apr 24, 2021

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0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Appendage7

Jan 17, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of the NSA agents' name is Al Petalis. Petalis is Latin for petal (as in flower petal). Rose petals are traditionally a symbol for love and devotion and can also be a symbol of motherhood -- the two main themes of the movie… Expand

11 of 13 users found this helpful112

chelano

Oct 7, 2011

Ok I will say off the bat that the whole concept to the movie is a little strange. You start to figure most of it out by the middle of the film. By the end, it comes clear and is a little off. The cast on the other hand were pretty good. Julianne Moore was pretty excellent as well as DominicOk I will say off the bat that the whole concept to the movie is a little strange. You start to figure most of it out by the middle of the film. By the end, it comes clear and is a little off. The cast on the other hand were pretty good. Julianne Moore was pretty excellent as well as Dominic West who also had a big part. Side characters were also good like Gary Sinise and my personal favorite from the movie, Linus Roache. He basically played the bad guy and really had no emotion until later in the film. But having no emotion made him a very creepy character to watch. I really wished more out of this movie. I guess the story was just ok for me, but I did enjoy watching it. I keep feeling like they could of took a different direction and did better though.… Expand

2 of 24 users found this helpful222

WriteFilmLive21

Dec 17, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. "The Forgotten" is, in short, a movie quite worth forgetting. The initial premise is intriguing - Julianne Moore plays a mother who lost her son in a plane crash, only to realize that the child was supposedly stillborn and she has invented 9 years of memories with him. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long at all before the film goes from interesting to bland and silly. At 91 minutes, the movie is astonishingly short for what it's trying to do, resulting in consistent overpacing - it feels you've only been watching 10 minutes before Moore's confronting the idea that her son never existed, and about 5 minutes later she's joined up with a father in a similar predicament and on the run from NSA agents. And just when this movie seems to strike the most basic level of boring, our characters come to the realization that their kids are still alive, and have really been . . . (sigh) . . . abducted by aliens. Really? Aliens? We went from an engaging psychological thriller to aliens? And of all the scientific research priorities such aliens would have upon discovering our species, the one they choose is kidnapping children to see if they can dissolve the parent-child bond? Is this a drama or a comedy? The main alien villain (who shows up about 5 minutes in and is a patently obvious "secret" antagonist right off) is probably the blandest and most nonchalant extraterrestrial ever put to film, whose one single freak-out moment is reserved for a cheap CGI face gimmick and a bunch of breaking glass (because, you know, yelling solves everything). And outside of Moore herself, the rest of the characters might as well be forgotten also, because they're about as memorable and deep as the aliens. Honestly, this film should have ended 20 minutes in - Moore finds out she's nuts, she's locked up, the end. Nice, neat, and a big time-saver. A shame her talents went toward such a lazily-written film.… Expand

2 of 17 users found this helpful215

eva3si0n

Apr 23, 2023

The Forgotten is a classic thriller from the early noughties. Julianne Moore's good acting is perhaps the only plus of the film. Everything else in the film is secondary and not expressive. A typical level B thriller to watch once. There is no suspense as such, the plot almost does not keepThe Forgotten is a classic thriller from the early noughties. Julianne Moore's good acting is perhaps the only plus of the film. Everything else in the film is secondary and not expressive. A typical level B thriller to watch once. There is no suspense as such, the plot almost does not keep the viewer tense, and the plot seems to oblige. Secondary characters do not affect the plot in any way. The film tries to partially compensate for all this mischief with a mystery, but it is also mediocre. The alternative ending is not much different from the classic ending. Don't waste your time on this mediocre film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Meth-dude

Apr 20, 2014

Is it a good concept? yeah but the result is really boring, gosh,i ****** hate this movie. It's really long for nothing the acting is bad and the result is horribly bad.

4 of 41 users found this helpful437

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