The Forgotten (2004)

The Forgotten is a tense, slow-burning psychological mystery with a dash of science fiction that follows Telly Paretta, a mother struggling to rebuild her life after the death of her nine-year-old son in a plane disappearance. When her psychiatrist and husband begin insisting that eight years of memories of her child were never real, Telly is forced into a desperate search for proof of Sam’s existence. Along the way she teams up with Ash Correll, a grieving father with a similar loss, and attracts the cautious interest of NYPD detective Ann Pope — and as small, disturbing inconsistencies pile up, an unsettling explanation larger than ordinary grief begins to emerge. Viewers can expect an emotionally charged ride: the film balances raw grief and maternal determination with mounting paranoia and suspense. The pacing is a slow, deliberate build — intimate, often eerie scenes of memory and denial give way to sharper, conspiratorial revelations — so the experience alternates between empathy for Telly’s devastation and growing unease about what forces might be erasing reality. Performances are anchored in personal anguish, and the story raises themes of memory, truth, and the lengths one will go to prove what is real. If you watch The Forgotten, you’ll come away unsettled and thinking: is the film about a grieving mind collapsing, or about something far more insidious that manipulates the facts of people’s lives? It’s a thought-provoking, emotionally driven mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

Actors: Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Christopher Kovaleski

Director: Joseph Ruben

Runtime: 91 min

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

6.7 /10 43 /100 5.8 /10 5.6 /10