UNFORGETTABLE
A film review by Paul-Michael Agapow
Copyright 1997 Paul-Michael Agapow
David Krane (Liotta) is a police medical examiner, accused of the murder of his wife. Although acquitted, the memory continues to haunt him as he wonders why his wife was killed. One day at a crime scene he uncovers signs that his wife's killer is in the area. Serendipitously, he later attends a talk by researcher Briggs (Fiorentino), who has managed to transfer memories between rats ...
Another John Dahl and Linda Fiorentino film? After the masterful and assured noir of "The Last Seduction", such an effort would have to be (to use a tired phrase) compulsory viewing. But "Unforgettable" crept into the cinemas and slunk away a few weeks later to mediocre reviews. This is less than it deserves - while it has its problems, it has a lot of good things to offer too.
The SFnal device that drives "Unforgettable" is patently absurd, especially to anyone who has done any amount of neurophysiology. The memory transfer procedure involves intravenous injection of the cerebrospinal fluid of the "donor", coupled with a cocktail of random drugs (the names seemingly lifted from a first-year physiology textbook). But the manner and implication of the process is handled with some verve and imagination. The transfer emphasises vivid, shocking memories and requires exposure to a cue for the original memory - such as the scene of a murder, the face of someone involved. The memories are not simple knowledge but a re-experience, complete with the original trauma and fear. As Krane tries to unlock his wife's murder, he accumulates a head of memories that clash and merge unpredictably, his body suffering from the side-effects of the transfer procedure and the accumulated psychic shock.
This intriguing setup is let down to some extent by the plotting and acting. Although Dahl has competently used coincidence and cliche in the past (as in the absurd but delightful "Red Rock West"), the strain shows as "Unforgettable" winds down every 30 minutes before being kickstarted to life by a fresh flurry of machinations and improbabilities. As the climax arrives, it also begins to lose its originality and confidence. A mark of this is when the identity of Krane's mysterious nemesis is questioned. Anyone who has seen a film in the last ten years will instantly finger the two unnecessary characters as candidates, only leaving the question of whether it is the blatantly obvious one or the equally blatant unobvious one. It is no mark of quality that both seem probable.
Peter Coyote turns in a good if minor performance as a glum cop friend. Liotta, never a great actor, does a good turn as the slowly disintegrating and obsessed Krane. As for Linda Fiorentino ...
Dear Ms. Fiorentino,
I realise there are problems with being typecast,
especially for females in the Hollywood system. Nonetheless,
your portrayal of a mousy repressed scientist is abysmal.
Please return to playing evil-sex-bitch-queens from hell.
Thanking you etcetera, hugs,
PA
Despite these faults, "Unforgettable" is a good film even if it is more a competent mystery than it is the clever treatise that it might be. [***/interesting] and Woody Allen films on the Sid and Nancy scale.
"Unforgettable" Directed by John Dahl. Starring Ray Liotta, Linda Fiorentino, Peter Coyote. Released 1996.
------ paul-michael agapow (agapow@latcs1.oz.au), La Trobe Uni, Infocalypse [archived at http://www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~agapow/Postviews/]
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