On U List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
Unforgettable (1996)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
8/20, 5/22
8/20:
Unforgettable?
Unfathomable is more like it. The premise starts out as intriguing with tons of potential in the idea of
injecting one person's cerebrospinal fluid into somebody else to retrieve memories. However, it stops there
after the first half-hour and starts going terribly wrong the rest of the way.
Ray Liotta is guilty of being typecast as a psychotic character. It's all about his eyes, and he never fails to
deliver the crazed look he's (in)famous for. Why can't he continue doing nice, heart-warming films like
Dominick and Eugene and
Field of Dreams?
In Unfathomable, his medical examiner character, Dr. Krane, has the chance to inject fluids, not from one
but four people, into himself, which is all unscientifically proven, so he can find out who killed his wife.
While at it, he does it four separate times within two days. Heart attack is a side effect of this, and it's
not surprising the guy ended up permanently comatose. By the way, did somebody say his blood alcohol content
was 2.5? That's crazy; he would've been declared dead. At least 0.30% will put somebody into a coma, and any
higher is crossing over to the death valley.
The editing feels gimmicky, pushing the envelope from plausible to weird. In other words, the plot is
increasingly convoluted that's on par with Desperate Measures.
Many far-fetched events are jam-packed in a short amount of time, and Krane never experiences a single positive
memory that's stored in any of the four deceased characters?
All in all, some things are best left alone, and that's what Krane should've done in Unfathomable.
5/22:
Upping my rating from '4' to '6', the plot of Unforgettable is easier to swallow this time around.
Maybe Unfathomable was a bad title because I now see it's about avenging the death of his wife. Then again,
who knows if they did love each other? I'm only saying this because it's been through Dr. Krane's perspective
the entire time. The movie is fine for the most part, but Linda Fiorentino is a dead weight. Anybody else
but her would help a lot. She was only cast because of her connection with the director from
The Last Seduction.
All in all, Unforgettable works well as a mystery thriller, but you should leave your brain at the door.