Forget Me Not

I saw a preview screening of this at the weekend. It has a very involving story line and I soon found myself wrapped up in the couples journey threw London. It is not the usual genre I would opt for but, the engaging story, great choice of locations and top notch acting kept me entertained. I felt connected to the characters and as the credits started to roll I wanted to know where their journey together was heading. It has a few flaws but they never distracted from the message of the film. It passed the all important watch test, although as I say not my genre, I never found myself looking at my watch to see how long was left. I was captivated by what was happening to the central characters. I left the screening feeling upbeat, thinking about how at our darkest hour something small can happen to bring us into the light.

I would recommend this for anyone looking for something a little different.

This film has a lot of potential. The cast, particularly the two leads, are great. The premise - two strangers meet and spend one long night falling in love - is perhaps a little predictable, but still holds charm. The setting - London city at night - is picturesque. However, the script fails to deliver and our two star-crossed lovers spend far too much of the film skimming the surface of well-worn conversation topics, trapped in cliché scenarios.

Lingering looks? Check. Conversations about God and the meaning of life? Check. Rain-soaked embraces? Check. Guy giving up his jacket? You bet. Bittersweet ending? Of course. Piano playing, swapping of embarrassing childhood stories, walks along rivers, revelations of painful pasts, spontaneous musical interludes - this film has it all.

That's not to say the film doesn't have its charms. There are some interesting twists in the conversation, and there are moments towards the end where the characters manage to break free, however temporarily, from their cookie-cut roles of Tortured Artist and Manic Pixie Dream Girl. The problem is that the formula has been done so often, and so much better. See: Before Sunrise (1995), Once (2006), Breakfast Club (1985). This film is by no means terrible, but with so many other good films available to watch, why waste your time?

I anticipated a clone of "Before Sunrise," which I really enjoyed, but this film was much more than the story of two people spending 24 hours together, sharing tiny parts of their lives and moving on. The film sets the stage and encourages the viewer to imagine the truth about the characters without any cinematic tricks. The pace was perfect and the film devoid of unnecessary dialog. Just as in true life, some of the conversations were unfinished or interrupted as the film carried on. Several times I found myself forgetting that I was watching a film, as I was so caught up in the humanity of the characters. The acting was truly first rate. It was beautifully filmed, using really super London locations and fun music which gave it the look of a much more expensive finished product. I will keep this gem in my movie library, listed under "inspirational romances."

A romantic drama by Alexander Holt, "Forget Me Not" stars Tobias Menzies and Genevieve O'Really as a couple who spend several hours roaming the streets of London. They chat, laugh, gaze longingly into each other's eyes and then, finally, share shocking secrets.

Wholly clichéd, "Forget Me Not" plays like an amalgamation of "Remember Sunday", "Away From Her", "50 First Dates", "Memento", "Once" and Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise". Elsewhere Holt's attempts at photographing London are mostly inept, the director ignoring London's more interesting nooks and crannies in favour for unimaginative locations deemed "romantic" and "iconic" by tasteless tourist agencies.

5/10 – Worth one viewing.

I enjoyed this film a lot, it was more than I was expecting. It's not your standard romantic drama, and it's clear that there was no big budget or fanfare with this - but that's why I liked it. It meant that there was no distraction from the two main characters in the film and I could concentrate on their stories. Tobias Menzies plays his character with an understated confidence, he allows you to understand him and his ways in your own time. Genevieve O'Reilly is also good and plays a very likable character. There's a chapter of her story, involving her grandmother, which felt a little 'shoe-horned' in, and there may have been another way of introducing the subject of memory to the film in a less contrived way. I never saw the end coming (the two have a conversation at the end in which all is revealed), and the final scenes were really good - although nobody warned me this film was a weepy! All in all, a good film and I'm pleased to have watched it.