Remember Me

Remember Me

BY Denise FalzonPublished Mar 11, 2010

Ever since the Twilight phenomenon captured tween (and maybe more than a few adult) hearts, it's almost impossible to watch a film that features Robert Pattinson without imagining Edward Cullen sparkling in all of his James Dean-esque sultriness. But Remember Me is definitely not Twilight, as the first scene of the film quickly dismisses that notion.

Remember Me starts out in 1991 New York, where a little girl — Pattinson's future love interest — witnesses her mother's murder. Flash forward ten years, where Tyler (Pattinson) and his family meet on the anniversary of his brother's death. Tyler is a rebellious 21-year-old who is aimlessly wandering through life and has issues with his father (Pierce Brosnan), a high-powered businessman. Ally (Emilie de Ravin), now also 21, is Tyler's complete opposite, living life to the fullest despite tragically losing her mother at a young age.

At first, Ally presents the perfect way opportunity for Tyler to get back at her cop father for roughing him up. But this is a romantic drama, so after getting to know each other, the two start to fall in love, as they are brought closer together and connect via familial tragedy. However, their relationship becomes threatened when initial intentions become known and they are faced with the struggle to get past the circumstances that are tearing them apart.

The plot of the film isn't all that exciting, but Remember Me is more about character development than narrative. Because of Ally, Tyler goes from being an angry, self-destructive miscreant to a young man who finds happiness and meaning in his life. It would have been nice to see a little more character development with Ally, as she seems to just be there to support Tyler's coming-of-age transformation. In contrast to Tyler, Ally is a little too perfect, which comes of as a tad unrealistic; you'd think she'd be a little more mentally unstable, especially after experiencing such a traumatic childhood event.

Perhaps any further character development for Ally would have taken away screen time from Pattinson, and why would they want to do that when they could cash in on the current Twilight hysteria? However, some "twihearts" might not like seeing Pattinson in a role filled with angst, causing him to get into drunken bar fights. Although it shouldn't come as a surprise, given Pattinson has recently been choosing roles that distance him from the Edward Cullen image.

However, those same Twilight fans can take comfort in watching a film that is 90-percent Pattinson looking broodingly dreamy. Remember Me is even worth a watch just for the few scenes that are a little steamier than we're used to seeing from the PG-13 star. De Ravin makes a perfect co-star; it's finally nice to see a female lead who can actually act and is worthy of Pattinson's gorgeousness (sorry, Kristen).
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