The Forgotten features Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore), who has been in mourning because of the death of her 9-year-old son, Sam. She's been grieving for over a year, and like a prisoner counting the days incarcerated, she can recite the time since his death down to the millisecond.



The thing is, everyone is telling her she's delusional. Even though she swears he lived, and subsequently died in a plane crash, everyone, her shrink (Gary Sinise), and even her husband Jim are telling her the kid didn't exist. They even go so far as to remove all personal objects one day when she is gone, just so they can convince her she is insane. Telly, on the other hand, knows what she remembers, and enlists the help of Ash Correll (Dominic West), the father of a little girl who was killed on the same plane flight. Ash doesn't remember his daughter, but with some help from Telly, and the Detective on the case (Alfre Woodard), they are able to convince Ash.



I suppose this could have been taken two ways. One, we know beforehand that she had a kid, and the kid is missing, but everyone is trying to convince her otherwise. Or, two, the suspense and mystery is lengthened so that we are unsure if she is actually delusional or not. As it stands, we know she is telling the truth, and that all others are attemping to convince her otherwise for some strange reason.



Anyway, the suspense is top-notch, and the audience is kept guessing until the very end. It's god an eerie, old-school Alfred Hitchcock feel to it. What I mean by that is the story is told in such a way that there is genuine intrigue, and not the foreshadowing nonsense of most contemporary movies that allows the audience to figure things out about halfway through the viewing.



Be on the lookout for a specific special effects scene in which a reverse bungee jump type maneuver is accomplished. It's gasp-worthy, and a nice touch that allows the viewer to empathize a bit with the helplessness being experienced by Telly.