Gone But Not Forgotten

Terrible TV flick with bad casting except for Scott Glenn, who manages to hold his own in a trivial badly written and directed script. Hard to believe Brooke Shields can do anything important but pose as she does in this. Marilu Henner should stick to comedy.

Some of the situations were so unrealistic and far fetched I began to laugh at the screen. That someone can get away with crashing a police station without being captured is silly and hard to believe. This dame can just enter and kill at her leisure and no one stops her. One gentlemen could have just smacked her across the face and saved his life. That she could over power him is one of the silly nonsense this film expects you to believe.

Don't waste your money or time on this loser. Except to watch Scott Glenn make the best of a bad scenario.

I use to work as a reader (Someone who reads various material and recommends it to be made into a feature film) and this novel was at the top of my list since it first came out years back. So I was all out surprised when I just happened upon it on DVD at the video store a few weeks ago. I was initially apprehension to see how such dark material would be transferred into a T.V. format. However, I then recalled that the novel's plot was fairly elaborate and could only be done justice as a two-part T.V. movie. And after watching this, I did indeed find myself quite impressed with the entire effort -- Acting, directing, writing, even some of the cinematography. This, despite the material being "Lifetime"-enhanced a bit, as well as a pretty bad little plot convenience near the end.

Overall, I recommend the movie and strongly recommend the book.

American readers of bestselling novels do seem to have a taste for rather vicious stories. In a lot of these books, the baddie doesn't quietly do someone in with arsenic as in a lot of Agatha Christie novels. Instead, victims are tortured before the coup de grace, often in some rural setting like a swamp or a barn with implements similar to the instruments of torture used during interrogations in the Middle Ages. Maybe American's taste for the ghoulish shouldn't be surprising given that this country boasts sustaining some of the most gruesome of crimes, such as the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders of the 1930's or the Zodiac killer of the late 1960's and 1970's. The average American could be equally entertained (or repulsed, depending upon your point of view) by devouring true crime books as well as crime fiction. "Gone But Not Forgotten" is a novel adapted for cable that chronicles two series of heinous crimes, both 10 years apart.

Scott Glenn, in maybe the most fiendish role of his career, portrays Martin Darius, a Sacramento magnate-developer who may have had a previous life in upstate New York in a small town called Hunter's Point where his wife and daughter were mercilessly dispatched. Fast-forward 10 years. He has now changed his name and swings big development deals in Sacramento, California. There, a serial kidnapper is on the loose who has a taste for young uppity women who are both attractive and rich. The kidnapper snatches each woman and leaves a calling card that says "Gone But Not Forgotten" along with a black rose. It is unclear whether these victims are alive or dead. Ten years earlier, there was also a serial kidnapper in Hunter's Point who did the same thing: kidnap a young beautiful woman from society's upper-crust and leave the same calling card with a similar black rose.

When the authorities learn that one of the victims had been having an affair with Darius, he becomes a suspect. He entices up-and-coming crackerjack attorney Betsy Tannenbaum (Brooke Shields) to take his case, partially by offering a $100,000 fee of attainder. Alan Page (played by Lou Diamond Philips) is the detective on the case who also begins researching the crimes at Hunter's Point. He is unexpectedly visited by a detective from New York, Nancy Gordon played by Marilu Henner (of Taxi fame), who had been on the Hunter's Point case. But strangely, the files regarding the Hunter Point case are missing. And then Henner goes missing. Both Shields and Philips decide to investigate further at Hunter's Point, 3000 miles away.

A decent but rather brutal crime drama. At one point, a lot of characters end up murdered. The final solution is interesting if not incredibly disturbing. This may not be as brutal as the recent film "The Changeling" but it comes close. Not for the feint of heart. Although I believe in the freedom of entertainment, I do have to wonder what purpose it serves for people to continue devouring material of such gruesome content.

For a TV movie, I was surprised. I usually put these types of flicks on in the background versus paying close attention, but it's not bad at all. A good TV cast, some plot twists, held my attention.

In upstate New York, police detective Nancy Gordon (Marilu Henner) investigates the murder of the family of powerful Peter Lake (Scott Glenn). Ten years later in Sacramento, Martin Darius (Scott Glenn) is a successful developer. Under a blackmail threat, he hires defence lawyer Betsy Tannenbaum (Brooke Shields) and he kills the threat. She has just won a case against D.A. Alan Page (Lou Diamond Phillips). Nancy Gordon is still pursuing Peter Lake. Her theory is that he has changed his name and is a serial killer who leaves behind a black rose and a note that says "Gone but not forgotten". New missing women cases with similar signature have popped up in Sacramento and Alan Page happens to be in charge of them.

I don't know anything about Phillip M. Margolin or his writing. From this movie, it seems to be a lot of twists and turns. Only I don't like these ones. They leave me with various questions. They feel unrealistic. I can't believe that Peter Lake's story wouldn't be a nationwide salacious scandal. No gag order can be applied to the victims. I don't like Betsy's squeamishness about her work. She can't be a defense lawyer with only innocent clients. Also the D.A. would never tell so much about his case to her. There are aspects of the mini-series which intrigue me. There are short scenes that are fascinating. I love Martin Darius telling his version of his relationship with Nancy Gordon. That would be a great jumping off point for a different mystery. Then there is the final twist. It is convoluted which I am able to excuse as coming from the mind of a crazy person. In the end, this has one bridge too far to cross.