Review from Miriam Cadoni @NoctConcerto - Italy
SPOILERS* First of all I want to a make a little critique to Summit : next time please don't publish all the trailers please, certain scenes I've learned the dialogues by heart (for ex.when tyler meets ally for the first time).
Second critique : the main trailer is really deceptive...is based all on the lovestory between Tyler and Ally.. for this I don't wanna say that I was disappointed by this but I was really really surprised by the whole history...
After the critiques, I want to say KUDOS to Summit for this film, it's fantastic!
ATTENTION : if are searching the vampire here.. stay away for this film.. here you find Robert in a more deep, complicated, more interesting too role. Also if are going to the cinema to watch a simply lovestory, you wrong, dude... since the lovestory is one of the elements that completes the history's film.
So now let's start -I've been at the cinema in my city in Italy on the 26th March -, I really love Tyler's role because in some manners represents the today's reality.. divorced parents with an extended family, have comunications problems with the dad and so on.
There's a lot of alcool and smoke (about this I want to know how many packet of cigarettes has smoked Robert during the shooting of the film hahahahaha) and for this I want to advice the film to an audience over 16.. maybe children aren't able to understand the film...
Ally, instead, represents Tyler's salvation in all the aspects and facts. When her is near Tyler all is easy to solve.. an example Ally, in some manners, after Caroline's accident (poor child), try to make understand with her love to Tyler that his dad is suffering like him for Micheal's suicide and that he must solve all the comunications problems with Charles.
The fight scene is the key to all the film, without that Tyler will never meet Ally. Maybe I have been disappointed by the sex scene : now I don't want to pass for a pervert person, but I have read in some directors interview that they have cut some scene because of the censorship and if they kept those scenes the film will have been an R rated, the film needed that hot scenes to make undestand the love that Ally feels for Tyler.. it's a really strong feeling.
At the half of the film, I've fell like something (I don't know what precisely) maybe a feeling.. the music has confirmed this thought that I'm just saying now... like that is going to happen an imminent catastrophe.. when I have read the date on blackboard I've understood all.."Tuesday - September 11,2001".
I've literally start to crying and saying "Godness, why this?"
After Tyler has found the right balance with love and his complicated relationship with the dad.. a fucking kamikaze has vanished all the effort... hell, I'm feeling so devasted about the end of ths film... I'm totally without words, really. If one part of my heart says "Godness, why this?" the other part says "I'm happy that the final wasn't expected like the classic lovestory ends with a marriage".
Also I want to add that I'm really happy to have spent 7 € of my allowance for watch this film. It deserves.
Review by Isabella Carter [Chelsea]
Forget the critics and their (occasionally biased) negative reviews. Go watch Remember Me. It is ultimately a brilliant movie, satisfying in it’s take on love, loss and life. It certainly gave me a lot to think about, which accurately suits the title. I left the theater hall dazed, unsure after its sudden twist of fate at the end. Did it suit the movie? Precisely so. The theme of loss and coping with life’s struggles seems to main theme of this movie, regardless of the trailers suggesting otherwise. Did I LIKE the ending? Not as much in the movie, but that’s because it was more affective in the script. The plane crashing and the footage on the TV and Tyler’s voice-overs. But with all the backlash it’s been getting for it, it’s better that those finer, more intimate details were left out. Overall, the finale was affective and memorable.
I’d just like to mention how proud I am of Robert, being a big fan of his and all. He wonderfully proved his worth, his skills and timing, in terms of acting both physically and emotionally in this movie. His snarky remarks, witty responses, insulting curses, and best of all, deep thoughts were expressed very well. You see him totally let go in some scenes, then grudgingly hold back in others. I was particularly impressed with that scene between him and the amazing Pierce Brosnan, who plays his dad. The way he shouted, how he looked, struttered, stormed around, it looked surprisingly natural, as shocking as that sounds. And I’m being a 100% honest and unbiased here when I say that I was blown away. You see, in most movies, people who are supposedly really angry just seem to scream and shout in perfect, clear sentences at each other. And in real life, that doesn’t happen, not often, at least. You’re supposed to be at a point where you’re so angry, you can barely form coherent thoughts or proper sentences, which was exactly how Tyler was. It was a short but distinguishing scene for me. Rob IS an actor. A real, raw one, at that. And he’s here to stay.
The chemistry between Rob and Emilie De Ravin, who skillfully plays his love interest Ally, was arguably very present, and believable. They’re not your love-at-first-sight type of pair, he only asked her out to get revenge on her dad, and she didn’t even wanna go on date with him. At first. Hell, she doesn’t even kiss him! She eventually does, probably just to make him shut the **** up. Tyler blabbers like a 5-year-old on a sugar rush, but it’s relatable and quite endearing. Their first date is as awkward as a real-life blind date would be. I enjoyed that scene, because it wasn’t a Disney-perfect first date where everything goes fine and dandy… and they all lived happily ever after. Uh, no. Definitely not. Their second date is at his apartment, they’re a little drunk, they drench each other (literally) and then his roommate, Aidan, played by charming Tate Ellington, persuades them to go for one (meaning a hundred) drink. She gets so drunk, she throws up and crashes Tyler’s bed. And.. wait for it… he DOES NOT sleep with her. Woah. It’s a turn from there, she starts believing him, and after running away from home because of a big fight with her dad, played by deserving Oscar winner, Chris Cooper, she goes to Tyler’s apartment for comfort. He sincerely tells her she’s more than welcome, and well, I guess you know what happens next. Her those shrieks? Yeah, I thought so. Their love-making scene(s) are surprisingly beautiful, filled with lust, passion, and an obvious feel of growing love and respect for one another, not at all distasteful or inappropriate.
Moving on to Tyler’s favourite (one of, I mean) girl. His little sister, Caroline. Ruby Jerins plays her brilliantly. The brother-sister relationship between these two is quite easily the best among all relationships, which says quite a lot seeing as all the relationships in the movie worked rather well. Even from the beginning it is obvious that the relationship between Tyler and Caroline goes much deeper than a bond bonded by blood. It is clearly the feeling of loss and loneliness that has brought these two so close to each other, ironic because it’s those exact emotions that have pushed them so far away from everyone else. But that’s the beauty of their relationship. They discuss their problems, but it’s not doom and gloom every second of the way. He brings out the independent, fun and joyous child in her, as she does with his young, playful and loving side. It’s absorbing to watch such mature characteristics arise from such young tormented beings. It’s also refreshing to see Tyler use his violent temper for a (kind of) good cause instead of just getting himself into serious shit. He constantly raises his voice at his dad for being, for lack of a better term, an arrogant asshole who cares only about his business, and it is basically the full circle of their relationship in the movie. But Tyler goes completely berserk when his sister’s hair is chopped off at a birthday party by her shameless “friends”. He literally trashes her classroom at school, terrorizing those girls and unknowingly satisfies his sister. It’s devastating to watch Caroline’s face as she grieve-strikenly sees the World Trade Centre go down in pieces, with her whole world in it.
Speaking of that, I’d like to address the so-called “offensive”, “tasteless” and “manipulative” ending. I just don’t get how those terms could have gotten associated with what happened. Why was Tyler’s death so exploiting? Because he died in 9/11? Does that mean that all those people were wrong to die in a terrorist attack? Because all those 3,000 people were just like Tyler, in case no one noticed. Tyler walked out of his apartment that day after telling his girlfriend he loved her, something probably every love-striken human being said that morning. But like Tyler, did they KNOW it would their last time? Did they know that they were leaving the people the loved most with only those 3 words to hold on to for the rest of their lives?? No. Tyler didn’t, and neither did they. SO, what I’m trying to say is, Tyler’s life could have easily been one of those 3,000 people’s life that day. This movie wasn’t made to exploit 9/11, or to gain sympathy and recognition, or to give Robert Pattinson a chance to show his skills in bed. No. This movie was made to ask the people of New York and the world to “Remember Me”, to remember all those Tylers that had lived such average lives but had died in such a tragic way. To grasp that life, no matter how perfect at one moment, can take a 180-degree turn the next moment. To remind the audience to “Live In The Moment” and to make every word heard and every action count. Because it could as well be your last, just like Tyler’s was, on a sunny morning of the 9th of September in the year 2001.
One last thing. The characters in this movie are brilliant, despite what the critics say, They felt real and honest and deep and above all, believable. Calling the Hawkins and the Craigs "a sad bunch of over-the-top dramatic, torn up families" is downright wrong. Ally lost her mom at 10, she SAW her getting killed right before her eyes. Her dad lost his wife to mugging, who, as a cop, works hard day and night to stop all that shit. Tyler and Caroline lost their brother to suicide, because he couldn't stand life anymore. Diane and Charles lost their son, and they carry the blame on their shoulders. Charles thinks it's his fault for pushing Michael, so he stays out of Tyler and Caroline's life, which saddens Caroline and enrages Tyler. Their parents are divorced. Honestly tell me straight up that no one you know has ever lost a brother or sister, or a parent or a child. Tell me that you don't know anyone who feels left-out. Tell me you've never rebelled against things. Tell me you've never done irresponsible things, tell me you've never over-reacted or lost your head. Tell me you've ever once felt like life is too unbearable, and you just want it to be over. Tell me you’ve never thought about those you lost who were so close to you, they were practically your twin. Tell me you've never loved someone so much, you could see right through their bad habits. Tell me you've never been at the wrong place at the wrong time. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, tell me you've never been caught surprised by life's changes. Tell me you know exactly what's going to happen next. Tell me that life is PREDICTABLE, and I will gladly condemn this movie with every ounce of my being.
If you have any doubts about seeing this movie, I suggest you put them away and go for it. You don’t have to be a Twilight, Lost, or James Bond fan to enjoy this movie. Go in with an open mind and you will exit the cinema with brand new opinions about… well, to quote the late Tyler Hawkins, everything.
Posts
