Remember Me

I make my hatred for Romantic movies quite public, without any fear of retribution from the enslaved rom-com zombie community. One of the advantages of my obvious over-judgemental nature however is that I very easily appreciate a film that tries something different, even though it might be at the cost of its unintetional audience. 'Remember Me', starring Robert Pattinson is one of those inherently romantic movies that take a few splendid dark detours from the obvious 'man loves woman' plot structure.

At the centre of things is a young man with a serious lack of direction in his life, but a huge heart that he shares mostly with his younger sister, his new found love and his goofy New York roommate. Pattinson seems to have been born for this role, as he gives the film a heavy emotional centre, thus creating the perfect canvas for the film's unexpected, brilliant ending.

A strong ensemble cast joins Pattinson to fill up the ranks: Retired 007 agent, Pierce Brosnan plays a cold, detached father and the perfect wall for Pattinson to bounce his frustrations off. Love interest, Emile De Ravin (The perfect game, Public enemies, Carrie) plays her part adequately and Ruby Jerins is another child actress you need to look out for. Pattinson's roommate, played by Tate Ellington (Taking chance, The elephant king) is by far the most stereotyped character, but director Allen Coulter (Hollywoodland) actually manages to put a nice spin on the vagina-hungry roomie archetype, instilling his role with a great sense of profoundness.

As mentioned before, 'Remember me' is a heavy film to chew on, so don't expect a light and relaxing night in when renting this. All of the characters are passing through their own dark tunnel, giving the film a very serious and poignant feel.

"All of the characters are passing through their own dark tunnel, giving the film a very serious and poignant feel."

Even though there's a lot to appreciate here, critics have ridiculed the film for many reasons, stating that it is unnecessarily sentimental and depressing. I however enjoy my movies with a few proper dollops of dread, so I was quite happy observing all the sadness. The film is however cursed: Your typical Twilight fan will probably not appreciate the film's slow pace and more serious movie buffs will be put off from the onset, due to their presupposed opinions of Pattinson's acting talent, even though he does a great job. It is my hope however that you give this film a try, regardless of your opinion of that horrible vampire series of films.

Pattinson has a reason to be smiling, with all the dough is making from Twilight.

Highlight: A powerful ending will leave you a bit white in the face and puts a great spin on a tired subject.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Meerkat tails