Unforgettable (2017)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss. 

[Webslinger]

Unforgettable presents perhaps one of the strangest cases of disappointment imaginable: I went in expecting something much more unintentionally hilarious, only to be disappointed with how perfectly average it ended up being. To the film's credit, the first half actually isn't bad; in fact, I got the sense that it could have been a very solid film if it had explored some of the dynamics it had set up - specifically that of a more worldly woman of color entering the domain previously occupied by a high-strung white socialite perfectionist - with the blunter satirical bite on display in Get Out. However, despite the development of some promising themes in the early going, it gives into its trappings as a lurid "psycho from hell" thriller and becomes progressively less interesting until its nonsensical finale. The final showdown between Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl is a deliriously enjoyable dive into trashiness that makes up for the relatively straightforward approach the film had taken to that point. Dawson - who can never seem to catch on despite being consistently solid across her filmography - gives a legitimately effective performance, and Heigl is at her best when allowed to tap into the icy psychopathy of her character. Unfortunately, the film opts for neither the smarter commentary nor more perversely enjoyable campy entertainment value it could have had, so it ends up taking a place as a merely ho-hum thriller.

 

C

 

In far fewer words, it's this year's Fifty Shades of Grey: everyone's trying so hard to salvage it that it's not trashy enough, but it's still too trashy at its core to work on a legitimate level.