Remember Me

Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) seems, at first, like that all around James Dean inspired, melodramatic and brooding college kid. Floating by with his liquor and one night stands, artistically angry at anyone who stands in his way.

It isn’t long, though, until we see in him a spirit of justice, especially where his eleven year old sister Caroline is concerned. Protective and nurturing, he attempts to fill the void in Caroline’s life which their disinterested father seems to have saddled her with. It becomes apparent though that, beyond his heart for Caroline, Tyler is carrying around a heavy load of baggage tied to the death of his brother and a string of issues that accompany it.

One evening, out with his roommate, Tyler’s desire for justice causes him to intervene in a brawl which lands him (perhaps unfairly) in jail. It is through this instance, and his distaste for the cop responsible for his arrest, that Tyler first goes after that cop’s daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin). As Tyler gets to know Ally, however, genuine feelings do develop, and the initial reasons that he first pursued her, disappear.

Ally, unfortunately has deep scars from traumatic events in her own childhood, as well as a terribly strained and unhealthy relationship with her own father. What follows plays out as though we are supposed to believe it’s a romance, but it never quite feels that way.

The good

• The way that Tyler is there for Caroline is, in my opinion, the most profound relationship in the film. It’s incredibly beautiful to see him continually set aside his own issues for her. At times, it is almost as though his entire day, from the college classes that he audits to his work schedule, revolves around Caroline and what her schedule is like.

• The evolution of Tyler’s father Charles' (Pierce Brosnan) character is, also, touching. As things about his eldest son Michael’s death become apparent, and you watch the lives of this broken family unfold, it is easy to see redemption in him.

• Without saying too much about it, fear is portrayed accurately as something that is crippling and infectious.

  FEAR, Anxiety and Worry… What does the Bible say? Answer

• Throughout the entire film, there is an almost suffocatingly heavy theme of resentment verses forgiveness. Time and again mention is made of the possibility that this very moment could be our last. Eventually, the primary characters do get to a healthier place, in regards to their resentments and fears.

• Tyler’s character is a good example of being one individual who does something. Granted, that something is standing in the gap for his sister, but it is his insistence to look past himself and do this which is eventually what brings some healing to his family.

The bad

• The film opens with a scene depicting the murder of Ally’s mom, with Ally (as a young girl) present.

• Tyler’s gut reaction, to almost ever scenario is to drink. When that doesn’t seem to cut it, his next action is violence.

• The profanity is, at times, quite heated and heavy.

• There are a few sex scenes which, though they show no actual nudity, are quite raw and intense.

• Tyler’s roommate is a self proclaimed jerk. He does and says some really shallow and derogatory things throughout the movie.

• Tyler’s dad Charles is often portrayed as cold and disinterested in the lives of Tyler and Caroline.

• Ally’s dad is drunk and angry, and hits her in one scene.

Realistically speaking, the last thing that either Tyler or Ally need is a romantic relationship. In movies, co-dependency has this way of masking itself as something so passionate and romantic, but it isn’t. In a film which uses an honest and devastating historical event to bring these characters to better versions of themselves, it’s a shame that the filmmakers didn’t use such honesty with their characters. Two hurting people don’t come together and suddenly make everything beautiful again. It may feel like that, at first, but once that euphoria wears off, the hurt is more likely to settle in quite deeper.

“Remember Me” relies so heavily upon the emotional shock value of it’s ending, it seems that the character development was misplaced along the way. The formula could have worked, perhaps, under different circumstances. Maybe it’s simply that Tyler and Ally, (also extending to their families) were too damaged for the audience to truly connect with. Each one’s traumas feel crammed into this incredibly short time period, and then this garish ending unfolds in a manner which feels as though it takes forever.

I was aware of the ending before going to see this movie, and, for me, it helped me to view it better. I wasn’t disappointed throughout and then caught off guard emotionally, at the end. For many, the emotional variables of the ending alone are enough to abstain from the movie, or wait until they can watch it in their own homes.

There isn’t much about this movie that I feel is worth recommending. The entire film, leading up to the ending (which wouldn’t be a shock, at all, if you read the dates in the beginning of the movie and pay attention to the details) is overly melodramatic and sour.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

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