Forgotten (2017)

Forgotten is one of those films that I could criticise to the end of time, but actually love deep down. It's a flawed film for sure, but it has a lot of redeeming qualities that make it shine above the rest, and I think that's mostly down to it being Korean. I know I know. Tom likes another Korean movie! What a surprise! But in all seriousness, there's something about the way they make films that means they could take a crap idea and make it watchable at least.

Forgotten, directed and written by Hang-jun Jang (Spring Breeze), is a thriller about a twenty-one year old who suspects not all is right in his family after his brother Yu-seok (Mu-Yeol Kim, The Gangster, The Cop and The Devil) is abducted and mysteriously returns nineteen days later. Now you see Forgotten's plot is okay, and I mean that in the most neutral way. It's not great, it's not bad, it's just okay. For starters it's almost entirely predictable from the beginning, or at least it was for me, even before the brother is kidnapped, literally the first five minutes. Now I'm not trying to show off how much of a detective I am, but the usual suspects that you would quickly guess when a thriller starts, like you're Douglas Reynholm from the IT Crowd, are probably going to be right here. And that isn't really a detriment, because with this film it's more enjoyable to watch how it all unfolds, rather than figuring out the big reveal. Unfortunately however, the film puts a lot of emphasis on the big reveal, it just does it in a clunky way. 

This film's ending is thirty minutes long and overly convoluted. By the hour and ten minute mark I was figuring it was the end, in fact I was just about to praise it for its fast pacing. The problem is that it keeps on going. It's sort of split into two segments, the mystery and the explanation, instead of those two being woven together seamlessly. Oldboy (dir. Park Chan-wook, 2003) is another Korean mystery thriller, and a perfect example of how to do a mystery thriller right. In fact if you haven't seen it I'd highly recommend, although of course you can do as you please. The thing with Forgotten is it really, really, really would very much like to be Oldboy, please. And it succeeds in a lot of ways. There are scenes that feel like they're paying homage and not just ripping it off, and the story feels very similar in many ways. The problem is that Forgotten fails to see what truly makes Oldboy great. Strip away Oldboy's nice visuals and great acting to just its base narrative and structure and you'll realise that the two work in perfect harmony together. They're woven together so that little clues are left for the viewer to figure it all out for themselves, or if they can't, that the ending feels satisfying and makes sense. Forgotten's ending kinda comes out of nowhere. I say "kinda" because it does make sense, and the second "explanatory" segment does do a good and compelling job of explaining it. But because the initial narrative and the ending are split, it feels more like two different films that just so happen to be screening one after another, with the exact same actors, and characters, and, you get my point. Don't get me wrong, I like the story, and the acting is so strong (and the pacing is still good regardless of the split) that I was engaged. Like I said before, this film is really about seeing how it all unfolds, and it does work in that regard. I just wish the ending didn't feel separate from the rest of the movie, but instead it felt like a complete whole. 

Another issue with the narrative is the tone. The following is a bit of a spoiler, so if you haven't watched this film, either go see it, and then come back or skip to the next paragraph. It's worth it. Anyway, you've been warned. This film starts off as a horror film, and even has a horror sequence. Now it does all eventually play into the film, at least I've realised that after thinking a little about it. The problem is the film seems to ditch the horror aspect of the movie, especially toward the end. It's revealed that the horror aspects are all hallucinations, and that's fine, but it's frustrating when a film just flip flops between tones without really letting on why. It feels more like the film forgot what it was trying to do and gave up. It's unfortunate, but not really that bad in the grand scheme of things, and I understand the need for the horror tone at the beginning. If you haven't seen the film, and are still reading, then be warned that the beginning has one or two jump scares. They're cheap, as in the loud bang doesn't come from any sound within the film's world, but instead just a bunch of violins. I have and always will hate that, but again, it's a minor thing that happens once or twice in the same scene. 

Something that furthered my enjoyment of this film was the music, which is once again very much like Oldboy, albeit slightly worse. It's a very well composed classical score that really helps pump you up during the action scenes, and make you on edge during the more mysterious moments. It always feels fitting with the tone and things happening on screen, and never feels out of place, which is always a bonus. The acting is also superb and the way they are able to play multi-faceted characters is incredible. All of the traumatic scenes are acted out superbly and it all feels very natural, which I feel is quite rare these days. 

Okay, look, this film is good, despite my complaints. It's the sort of film you'll probably scream "Saw that one coming!" like my mum every time we watch The Sopranos. I would recommend watching this with friends, your significant other or just with some family members, if you can. Not that it's one of those "So bad it's good" kind of films, but because it's always so much more enjoyable all rejoicing in knowing the twist together, than it is alone. Nevertheless, this film's shortcomings and predictable plot are not enough to stop me from recommending it. It's good, it's fun and exhilarating and really enjoyable. I didn't feel like I was wasting my time, nor did I feel like it took up too much of it. Absolutely watch this one if you can, it is certainly not a forgettable feature. 

7/10