REVIEW: ‘Remember Me’
When we first meet “Remember Me” lead character Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson), he’s a bit of a mess. It’s the day he and his family get together every year to pay respects to their brother who passed away. It’s a really important day to his younger sister Caroline (Ruby Jerins), with whom he shares a strong bond.
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RCC Rating: Worth Seeing At A Matinee |
The Hawkins’ patriarch, Charles (Pierce Brosnan), is more concerned with work than his children, and the death of his son barely registered as a blip. Despite having a lot of family money to fall back on, black sheep Tyler wants to live on his own without his father’s help in a crappy apartment with his best friend Aiden.
During an night out to raise Tyler’s spirits, a bar fight gets our pensive hero arrested by a hard-assed Sgt. Craig (Chris Cooper). Tyler then has a chance encounter with Ally (Emilie de Ravin), the officer’s daughter, and Tyler hatches a dubious plan to attempt to seduce her to get revenge for a wrongful arrest. Predictably, the scheme backfires as Tyler falls for Ally, and he has to reconcile the plot with his emotions.
The filmmakers deserve credit for challenging the audience to put themselves in Tyler’s shoes. It’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, and an enjoyable one.
Twelve-year-old Ruby Jerins is quite the scene stealer, and held her own with the likes of Pattinson and Brosnan. It was quite refreshing getting to see de Ravin in a lead role – I enjoyed her on “Lost” until she started yelling about her baby constantly.
As for Pattinson’s acting, everyone will be a critic, and this was a good opportunity for him to stretch his legs. Tyler’s character was fairly well rounded, offering up not only the chance to be charming, but to be sarcastic, funny and dramatic as well. I honestly think this role will open some minds about Pattinson’s acting ability.
While elements of the movie may make audiences cringe, “Remember Me” will stick with viewers long after the lights come up. Solid performances from surprising sources make it a memorable outing.
