Specchio della memoria

I was really surprised at the quality of this thriller. Ray Liotta stars. Why didn't I ever hear about it? What a thrilling surprise. Try it if you like sci-fi new-formula medical stuff that requires intelligent imagination. Lots of twists and turns. Buy the premise and you'll love the movie.

I recently saw this movie although it was released in 1996. I was pleasantly surprised by Ray Liotta's performance. Usually he plays such a bad guy. However, I enjoyed that his character showed some emotion.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this movie and you will be surprised at the ending. The storyline is far fetched, but you will enjoy it.

However, the movie at two hours, is a bit long and they could really have cut out a half hour. There were times I thought the movie could have ended, but it went on and on...

All in all, a good movie.

John Dahl's Unforgettable plays around with a trippy high concept premise in which people's memories can be accessed by using an experimental, controversial drug. Ray Liotta plays the troubled Doctor whose wife has been recently murdered. He desperately reaches out to the scientist (Linda Fiorentino) who synthesized the compound, and the two set out to use it unofficially, in order to retain his wife's dying moments, see them for himself and establish who her killer is. The serum takes its toll on his already stressed mind though, and soon he's questioning his own reality, his trust levels towards those around him dropping considerably. Director Dahl is beyond proficient when it comes to thrillers, usually taking on crime pieces with a noirish vibe. Here he tries his hand at science fiction, coexisting with a classic whodunit narrative, and the result is quite good. Liotta relies on the information that his detective friend (Peter Coyote) gives him, and combines it with the knowledge he absorbs from his deceased wife's brain, beginning to piece the puzzle together. There's also a troublesome detective played by Christopher Mcdonald he must deal with, and a violent thug (Kim Coates) involved as well. Liotta is usually tough, capable and would normally be found playing one of the two cops, but the doctor on the run without a lot of tactical skill suits him and allows the guy some work other than just cops or psychos. Watch for work from David Paymer, Kim Cattrall, William B. Davis, Callum Keith Rennie and Garwin Sanford as well. The premise may be too far-fetched for some folks, but for others with imagination it'll be a blast. It's also fairly violent and graphic, which may seem gratuitous for such a cerebral outing, but I find it gives it a stylistic edge and raises the stakes, just like Total Recall. Great flick. Not Total Recall, I mean this one. Well Total Recall too, obviously. Yeesh.

There have been harsh words about this "unforgettable",probably exaggerated.This could be some kind of update of "spellbound"(1945) and it recalls sometimes" D.O.A. "with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan (1988) ,and even "Jennifer eight"(1992)with Andy Garcia (the latter for the murderer's identity).Except for Hitchcock's classic,of course , the movies I mention had disastrous reviews.And however,they have much more imaginative scripts than ,say,"die hard" (one,two or three,take your pick,they are interchangeable)

Script for "unforgettable" is more polished than it has been given credit for.It's stunning when,in the end,the two stories come together,this time recalling "dead again" (K.Brannagh ,1991),another movie with an unfairly mediocre reputation;only 2 stars and a half on the Maltin!OK ,the plot for "unforgettable" is far-fetched,but it has an intern logic,and anyway,is it less credible than B.Willis singlehandedly taming a whole bunch of terrorists ?(Die Hard is rated 3 stars!)

Ray Liotta is an actor whose parts are not always worthy of himself.He's convincing here:during the whole movie,his face remains sad,wistful,as if he were waging an almost lost war.He rarely smiles,except when he's with his daughters.Linda Fiorentino,once she's provided Liotta with her drug,is not very important for the action (definitely not Ingrid Bergman in "spellbound").And we will be very thankful to Dahl for sparing us the umpteenth love affair between the patient and his doctor.More,we have here a very original ending,marred by the syrupy eponymous song though.It might be a happy end,after all,and which justifies the title.

All in all,it's an entertaining movie,mixing smartly sci-fi,thriller,and whodunit.It could become a sleeper.

Ray Liotta is convincing enough in this mystery film with scifi overtones as Dr. Crane, an accused but acquitted suspect in his wife murder whom steals an experimental mind- expanding yet incredibly dangerous drug from scientist Marta Briggs (Linda Fiorentino) in order to solve the crime and deduce the true killer.

The film is able to keep up a tense mood throughout despite it's more fantastical conceits and I enjoyed myself. While it may be far from perfect (one or two of the supporting actors drop the ball, the movie as a whole seemed a touch derivative),, it's still perfectly adequate,

My Grade: C+

Where I saw it: Instant Netflix