With his unique look, Robert Pattinson was the ideal person to play the vampire in the Twilight Saga but the question was, would he be able to portray a serious and real role?
Remember Me gave him this chance as he swaps his fangs for a cigarette. Directed by Allen Coulter and set in Brooklyn, New York, Remember Me is as different from Twilight as vampires are from depressed New Yorkers. Pattinson has played them both: in Twilight he was a depressed vampire fed up of being different and in Remember Me he plays a depressed New Yorker fed up of being a screw-up. Suffice to say, he plays depression well.
The movie revolves around Tyler Hawkins (Pattinson), a 21 year old who has no direction in life and some serious father issues. A large part of the movie revolves around Tyler and his father, Charles (Pierce Brosnan), who Tyler blames for his brother’s suicide and for generally being negligent. As the movie progresses, an encounter with a cop and a desire for revenge leads Tyler to meet Ally (Emilie de Ravin) and a blossoming romance follows. In fact you’ll probably see a little of yourself in Tyler, he’s just your average guy struggling to deal with relationships and the situations he’s thrown into.
The plotline is not obvious at the start, in fact it took me about fifteen minutes into the film to realise that there was no unique selling point but there doesn’t need to be as the depiction of Tyler’s troubles and their resolution hooks the audience so much so that you won’t see the unexpected ending coming. A good movie makes the audience feel emotion; either we hate characters or we love them. In this film you’ll find yourself caring and wanting only good things to happen to them but that doesn’t make a good plot now does it?
By the end, Tyler resolves all his issues with himself and his father and everything finally seems to be working out – but does he get to ride off into the sunset with Ally? Well I’m not one to watch and tell so you’ll have to check it out for yourself.
This movie combines friendship, love, grief, hatred and tension and the result is a compelling and emotional family drama. The character performances are commendable with Pattinson successfully bringing personality and empathy to a character overwhelmed by negativity and he transitions successfully from high fiction to reality. The supporting cast, namely Pierce Brosnan (Charles), Emilie de Ravin (Ally), Ruby Jerins (Caroline, Tyler’s younger sister) and Tate Allington (Aidan, Tyler’s best friend) give engaging performances which drive the plot along and add depth to Pattinson’s character.
The critics’ reaction to this movie has been 50/50 with some loving it and others saying that it is a “shameless contraption of ridiculously sad things befalling attractive people” and that Rob should stick to fiction. But in this reviewer’s opinion, Remember Me is an enjoyable film and I would recommend you go and see it for the endearing characters and compelling plot. This is the kind of movie which will stay in the viewer’s memory for time to come.
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