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Released by: Film Movement/RAM Releasing
Released on: April 1st, 2014.
Director: Nate Taylor
Cast: Christopher Denham, Lindsay Beamish, Elizabeth Rice, Paul Sparks, Anna Camp
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Directed by Nate Taylor in 2012, Forgetting The Girl stars Christopher Denham as Kevin Wolfe, a talented photographer who is frequently overwhelmed by the difficult events that past relationships have scarred him with. He's bound and determined that the best way to move past is to find the right woman and to get involved, so he does what he can to make that happen. It doesn't work. His efforts simply lead to more rejection and that rejection starts to take its toll on his psyche.
What Kevin doesn't realize is that his studio assistant, Jamie (Lindsay Beamish), is very obviously falling for him. He can't quite see this, however, because he's becoming more and more consumed with his own emotions to really pick up on anyone else's. As this starts to envelope him, his actions become more than a little bit questionable and his attempts to cope seem to spiral out of control…
Director Taylor seems intrigued with the concept of defying genre conventions here and as such, the story interestingly mixes elements of romance with some psychological layers and twisted suspense. There are some effective moments of violence here too, but it would be inaccurate to label Forgetting The Girl a horror film, at least in the traditional sense. Neither is it a romantic drama in the way you'd expect it to be. It's a movie that doesn't really need a label and instead rewards attentive viewers with skillful performances and well-crafted character development.
Obviously Kevin is the central character here and Denham plays him well. There are moments where we fear him, what he's capable of and what he'll do based on what he's been through and how he perceives having been wronged. At the same time, there are just as many moments where we feel for the guy. He can't catch a break when it comes to the fairer sex and anyone who has ever been in the position of longing for someone who remains just out of reach should be able to relate to him on some level. This makes what happens in the later part of the movie all the more intriguing and as it goes into some decidedly dark places, both literally and figuratively, we can't help but remain enthralled.
The movie is nicely shot and effectively edited. It moves at a slow but deliberate pace, building in interesting ways to an unsettling conclusion but with enough style and visual flourishes throughout to make sure we have no trouble paying attention. The score compliments the story and the look of the film quite well and the end result is both creative and absolutely worth tracking down.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Forgetting The Girl looks excellent in this anamorphic widescreen transfer. The film's sometimes dark color scheme is replicated nicely and the warmer tones that are used periodically look nice and bold without being oversaturated. Skin tones also look quite good here. There are some minor compression artifacts evident (that might not exist on the Blu-ray, not sent for review) but the image is otherwise clean and nicely detailed for a standard definition offering.
Likewise, the English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track is quite strong. There's good channel separation in a few key scenes and the dialogue is crisp and clear. Levels are well balanced and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion.
The main extra on the disc is a commentary track with director Nate Taylor who goes into quite a bit of detail about his motivations on this picture, what went into getting the look of the movie right, what he was going for with certain technical choices and of course, his thoughts on the finished product and what it was like working with the various cast and crew members involved in the production. It's a well-paced talk and Taylor is articulate and interesting to listen to without coming across as too high brow.
Outside of that, the disc also includes a quartet of deleted scenes, five exclusive web videos that tie into the feature, the trailer for the film, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
RAM Releasing's DVD debut of Nate Taylor's Forgetting The Girl is more of a twisted psychological thriller than a straight out horror movie but it's very well done. The script is smart and surprisingly, the performances are believable and appropriately nuanced and the direction is slick and well controlled. The DVD itself looks and sounds good and contains some strong supplements as well. All in all, a very good release of a very good movie.
