Forgetting the Girl

I've seen a lot of negative reviews for this movie (as well as positive ones), and I suppose I can see why some people might not like it or find it offensive. After all, it's basically a character study of a serial killer, and in a way it almost asks viewers to be sympathetic towards our protagonist, Kevin Wolfe, who has a serious problem with women.

Going in to the movie I had an idea that Kevin had some issues with females, but what that issue was wasn't clear until at least the halfway mark. Up to that point, we watch what seems on the outside to be a well-meaning albeit awkward man attempt to relate to various women only to be rejected. Something I an most men can relate to at some point in time. It's only later in the film that we start to realize that clearly something is very wrong with Kevin.

Forgetting the Girl is an odd movie because despite the subject matter, it is not at all a horror movie or a thriller, but instead a drama, and almost something of a 'reverse' love story. Don't get me wrong, it's a dark drama for sure, but this isn't your typical game of cat and mouse that you see in movies like Se7en or Along Came A Spider.

The acting and cinematography for this film was beautifully executed. Christopher Denham plays an excellent psychopath, the key being that he seems so perfectly normal, and even nice. Though not for everyone, I really enjoyed this movie, and would highly recommend it if you're into the dark stuff.

Haunted by a traumatic history, photographer Kevin Wolfe (Christopher Denham) struggles to systematically forget all his bad memories, but erasing his past threatens to consume his future.

You know, there have been half unicorn, half Pegasus ideas for a long, long time... not least of which is "My Little Pony".

I watched this film thinking it would be a horror picture. Turns out it really is not... at all. There is one brief gore moment, but overall the focus is on a man's failure to maintain long-term relationships... and then how he forgets them.

The film is beautifully shot, and oddly engrossing. While I could not really recommend it, there was nothing to dislike either... and it was quite a piece of art.

As I write this there are 10 reviews. Typically when the count is this low the positive reviews are shills from the cast or production staff trying to drive traffic to the theaters or rental markets.

Assume this now, this movie is just terrible. Bone achingly slow and contrived, I was forced by an uncontrollable urge in my lizard brain to fast forward to the end to ease the boredom.

Ignore any review that promises "plot twists." There is one. One twist and it has no relevance to the story other than to make it more pathetic. I knew exactly what was going to happen.

When there are dozens or hundreds of reviews and the comments vary widely it simply means some got the premise and others it was lost on. I cannot see anyone who is not on Thorozine or other profound anti-psychotics enjoying this, just a bad, slow, predictable essay on pathetic psychosis.

Spend the two hours you would have on this sleeping,you will be far more entertained.

Better yet, take your dog to the park!

Cheers!

Forgetting the Girl is a dark and twisted film that left me emotionally drained and mildly concerned who might be living next door. The director (Nate Taylor) brilliantly crafts a slow build of tension and dark suspicion as the viewer is drawn into an uncomfortable intimacy with the lead character played by Christopher Denham. Denham masterfully portrays a deeply and genuinely disturbed individual struggling to find some sense of normalcy in a relationship while surrounding himself with equally, if not more overtly damaged personae. Deserving of special mention for her amazing performance is Lindsay Beamish who played Denham's obsessive and thoroughly screwed up assistant.

The slow build of this film is laced with such real emotion and frightening honesty that I was left wondering whether the director did some extracurricular study of mental health issues to so succinctly draw out such amazing insights into the psychoses of his characters. Even after the crescendo, the director (and Beamish) left me wondering whether the reveal answered all of the mysteries crafted throughout the film or if there was more than meets the eye. This movie makes me want to run background checks on my neighbors…or not have any neighbors. I'm not sure. A+ job by the Director, cast and crew.

"Forgetting the Girl" is one of those movies that sticks with you long after the credits roll. Not an easy feat, but one that I consider essential for a film in order to remember it, discuss it to death, and even dream about it. Yes, I dreamt about this movie long after I saw it, the visceral images and suspenseful storyline lingering in my mind many a night. Kudos to director Nate Taylor and writer Peter Moore Smith for fashioning a totally original story in this day and age of cookie-cutter flicks.

The film starts out as a slightly rom-com look at the life of a New York-based headshot photographer named Kevin (played by the eerie Christopher Denham in a remarkable tour-de-force). Always searching for the perfect girl, perhaps one to take the place of his sister, Kevin asks every photography subject out on a date to mostly awkward results. His lovelorn assistant Jamie, a tough-looking goth girl with her own serious issues portrayed by the extraordinary Lindsay Beamish with a perpetual wounded look in her eyes, will do anything to make Kevin her own, even though she doesn't seem to exist in his eyes. All that changes when one of Kevin's dates goes missing. What follows is a labyrinth of twists and turns that slowly turn into something more powerful and psychologically disturbing than one would expect. In fact, it left me breathless. To give any more plot points away would be a crime, but you can call me guilty of loving this movie.

"Forgetting the Girl" is one of those singular movies that challenges the viewer to give up all expectations of the norm, forcing one to dive headfirst into the mind of a very complex character. I, for one, was swept away.