Not Forgotten
Directed by: Dror Soref Starring: Simon Baker, Paz Vega, Chloe Moretz Synopsis: Successful banker Jack Bishop (Baker) lives with his second wife, Amaya (Vega) and his young daughter Toby (Moretz)in a small town on the Mexican border. Everything is idyllic until Toby goes missing during soccer practice. What is initially perceived to be a prank becomes more serious when the van of a sex-offender is seen in video footage of the practice. While Amaya approaches a psychic practitioner of Santa Muerte, Jack and his sheriff brother-in-law investigate into the seedy nightlife of the Mexican town on the other side of the border – both paths bringing Jack uncomfortably close to his dark past... Review:Not having heard anything prior to watching Not Forgotten , I wasn’t expecting much. What I got was a competent thriller that will appeal to many. Simon Baker, who will be familiar to Flash-Bang’s loyal readers as Riley in Land of the Dead, plays upon his everyman appeal that has helped make The Mentalist such a successful TV show. We see his character go from doting father to desperate man as he searches for clues in a sordid Mexican Border town. Paz Vega plays his new wife Amaya. I had last seen her in The Spirit, which made use of her sexuality more than her acting skills, so it was refreshing that she was able to tap into both for her role in this movie. Chloe Moretz, soon to be seen in the super-hero flick with a difference Kick-Ass, plays Bishop’s daughter Toby. She was also in the ghostly, zombie flick Wicked Little Things. (In keeping with our March of the Dead theme). Benito Martinez turns up as Detective Sanchez. You might remember him from The Shield as Captain Aceveda.
The direction from Dror Soref is very stylish and captures the atmosphere of the locations very well. The Art Direction from Ed Vega, and the Set Decoration from Helen Britten is excellent. Normally, I find that when movies require a Mexican location or try to show a seedy town, the results are fairly unconvincing. This isn’t the case in Not Forgotten. When Bishop visits the barrios, they really look the part. I was glad that the Mexican characters weren’t stereotypical and treated with an LA Valley attitude. This comes across quite vividly, with Mexican characters being on both sides of the fence in this movie; cop and criminal alike. The inclusion of the little known religion of La Santa Muerte (which means Holy Death) gives the movie a unique feeling and a depth of story telling. With the religion on the up in the US, due to the amount of Mexican immigrants, elements of this story are very current.
Whilst the subject matter works well, the “shocking and totally unexpected denouement” isn’t exactly unexpected as it is signposted along the way. The very infrequent narration by Chloe Moretz seems slightly out of place as if added in post-production as an after thought or to the reaction of test audiences. Certainly a couple of the “sign-post” scenes appear to be pick up shots as opposed to part of the standard shoot.With Bishop’s plight, I was reminded slightly of Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, but this is no copy of that film. The mix of religious themes keeps the slow pace interesting and the movie slow burns to the climax that, whilst isn’t a major surprise, is nicely twisted and a fitting end. Hopefully, Soref won’t leave it so long until his next Directorial feature or writing project. Verdict: A recommended thriller. This is one of those Direct to DVD movies that is worth hunting down as it gives something different to the world of thrillers that tend to be all too familiar. Score: 7/10 (Wayfarer)
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