Remember Me

I’ll admit that my curiosity about this film mostly stemmed from my love of Lost and Emilie de Ravin. I was also probably tempted to see if Robert Pattison could play a character that wasn’t part of a beloved fantasy series. I may be the only person, but I was not let down by either actors. Although the first scene seemed a little cliché, (and frightening since I live in New York) I found most of the movie to be charming and enjoyable. Certainly the plot of an angsty college student has been done before, but at the least, this was an interesting study of family dynamics and how they truly affect the people we become.

The love story was not an epic one by any standards, but I think I prefer it that way. It seems more natural to have your college boyfriend/girlfriend just be one part of the mess that is your life. Stories that are only about love ignore the many other aspects of everyone’s lives that can drive them crazy just as much as a new crush can. Pierce Brosnan did not seem nearly as out of place as I assumed he would, and in fact, gave a rather multi-dimensional and moving performance. Equally surprising and delightful was the young Ruby Jerins, who played a child stuck in the middle of family tragedy with grace and humor. Although, Pattinson’s character may have been written as an obvious uncontrollable and lost twenty-something, he was able to draw me into the story and remind me that such a boy doesn’t have to be a cliché. I was a little unsure how to feel about da Ravin’s family situation in the movie at points, and her character didn’t have the depth that Pattinson’s did, but she still put in a good performance as a quirky and intelligent young woman.

As to the ending, I did not know what it was going in. I hate having movies, books, anecdotes, anything ruined for me by knowing the ending. If you don’t know the ending, keep it that way. I found it startling, and I was incredibly affected by it. I hope this doesn’t give it away, but it really struck me that there are about 5,000 other stories that could end that way. We saw only one story.