10.03.10 - ''Remember Me'' Review by Eye Weekly [SPOILER]

For a film bent so surely on ascending its brooding star to the status of “actor,” Remember Me is surprisingly good. First-time screenwriter Will Fetters and TV director Allen Coulter have concocted a relatable family melodrama/teen-angst period piece (it’s set in New York City in 2001) that has a sense of humour about itself and packs a surprising twist.

Robert Pattinson demonstrates considerable depth as NYU student Tyler Hawkins, a nihilistic child of divorce trying to protect his younger sister from the terrors of her private school. After Tyler is hassled by a cop, his dweeby roommate encourages him to court the enforcer’s daughter, a classmate, as revenge. Star-crossed love ensues.

Lost’s Emilie de Ravin infuses love interest Ally Craig with great intelligence, circumventing what would otherwise be a manic pixie dream girl cliché. (The couple’s first date features a long monologue about how Ally always eats her dessert first because life is too short). Amid the odds stacked against the couple in the form of distant fathers and class warfare — Tyler’s dad (Pierce Brosnan) is a wealthy Manhattan CEO; Ally’s (Chris Cooper) is an abusive cop from Queens — Remember Me captures a true tenderness in the way its characters experience first love. (Hot-plate nostalgia, anyone?)

Though it’s clearly concerned with being a star vehicle, Remember Me offers self-aware commentary on personal and historical upheaval. At the very least, it should provoke strong reactions from those desperate to see their treasured Edward as he swears, smokes and finally screws his way to self-actualization (with a New York accent, no less). Once you witness RPattz unleashed, no virginal vampire will ever do again.

Credit : Eye Weekly