A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Forgiven” (2022).
Given the run of generally dodgy films that have been coming out recently in this arse-end of the summer season, “The Forgiven” dipped into cinemas for what seemed like a single week and then was gone again. But unlike some of those other movies, this was one that I greatly enjoyed. It has its flaws for sure, but I found it a thoughtful and (generally) well-acted piece that left me with lots of questions after the ending.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Alcoholic and world-weary London doctor David Henninger (Ralph Fiennes) and his lovely wife Jo (Jessica Chastain) are in Morocco for a hedonistic party in the desert organised by a gay couple, Richard Galloway (Matt Smith) and Dally Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones). But tragedy strikes for the Henniger’s on their way to the party. On the desert road a young fossil-selling boy, Driss (Omar Ghazaoui), is killed by David’s car.
The westerner’s and the local police brush it off as “one of those things”. Driss is a nomad nobody. But then the boy’s father (Ismael Kanater) turns up looking for forgiveness and reparation.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Caleb Landry Jones, Ismael Kanater, Saïd Taghmaoui, Alex Jennings.
Directed by: John Michael McDonagh.
Written by: John Michael McDonagh (based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne).
Twitter Handles: #TheForgivenFilm.
“The Forgiven” Review:
Positives:
- Ralph Fiennes is SUCH a class act, and this is a near perfect role for his blend of lugubrious sadness and regret. Jessica Chastain is also spectacular here as well. As well as acting her socks off, she looks utterly gorgeous and highly desirable as the frustrated and flirty wife.
- I also loved, Loved, LOVED the performance of Ismael Kanater as the grieving father. Ranging (and raging) from grief to anger to doubt and back again, it’s a performance of an African actor that I would put up there with that of Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips“. It gave me goosebumps.
- I thought the script was clever in contrasting the morals of the western ‘infidels’ and the local Moroccans, reflecting underlying themes of duty and honour. But then the finale flips some of those ideas around and leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions. (See the “Spoiler” section below the trailer).
- It’s pretty difficult not to make the Sahara look impressive on film. Cinematographer Larry Smith not only creates spectacular desert shots, but also bathes the interior shots with rich colours to reflect the hedonistic goings on at the party. Some of the low-light firelight and candle shots are beautifully done.
Negatives:
- The excesses of the party are about 10% overdone. Stereotypically crass unlikable westerners, disparaging their local hosts by describing them as “little Moroccans”. And – we get the picture – rich old people shagging cute young golddiggers. Lord Swanthorne (Alex Jennings) in particular strikes you as a caracature of upper-class excess in the wake of the Epstein scandal.
- Caleb Landry Jones is about 20% over the top as the drugged-up homosexual host. And what was with that bizarre accent??!
Movie Quirks
An interesting quirk of this movie is that it plays all of the end titles for the movie at the beginning – something I’ve never seen before. It makes for an interesting ending, where “The End” is indeed THE END!
Summary Thoughts on “The Forgiven”:
Given that this is such an intelligent and thought-provoking drama, it seems a crime that it has been given such short-shrift in UK cinemas. It’s certainly, imho, one of the better films I’ve seen during this summer.
Recommended to catch on streaming if you can’t get to catch it for its last few showings in cinemas.
Trailer for “The Forgiven”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tikXHuJBMk8 .
Spoiler Section:
Don’t read past this point if you’ve not seen the movie.
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NO, SERIOUSLY!
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I’ve seen a review comment that the death of Henninger in the finale was “predictable”. I actually found it far from that and was shocked by the event. It generated a whole load of questions in my mind:
- Had Henninger come to the realisation that he deserved to die, which is why he got out of the car to accept his fate? Had the revelation of his wife’s infidelity contributed to that?
- If Abdellah wanted to pass this sentence on him, why didn’t he do it himself when he had the chance, with the knife in the desert? Didn’t he have the guts to do that? Was it against a local custom for him to take revenge himself? Or did he have a change of heart after David left? And if so why? But then, why did he prime Hamid (Mourad Zaoui) with the gun and ask for the ‘favour when required’ well before David left? For a plot based on “honour”, the action seems to be a particularly dishonourable thing to do in the circumstances.
So many questions on this that I was left with after the film… which is the sign of a thoughtful and interesting movie.
