Toits credit, Remember Me handles thebackdrop to its New York story on the eve of 911 with subtlety, allowingviewers to project their own emotions about the event onto a setting thatactually looks little different than nowexcept for fewer cell phones on thestreets. Remember Me adeptly sweetensits family drama with a spoonful of romantic comedy. The right notes are mostlyhit as the emotional symphony unfolds; some will say the drama turns tomelodrama in the final movement but then, melodrama can also be part of reallife.
Remember Me’s protagonist, Tyler, isplayed by Robert Pattinson, whose handsomely chiseled features and roilinginner turmoil brought a James Dean edge to his starring role in the Twilightseries. Here, he is Dean reincarnate, a rebel whose only cause is the right tosmoke in public against mounting public opposition. Brooding and sulky, andtwisted in Method Actor torment, Tyler nurses a deep wound from the suicide ofhis older brother and bitter, seldom spoken resentment against his father(Pierce Brosnan), a successful Wall Street kingpin who spends little time onhis family. Tyler has largely separated himself from his wealthy relationsexcept for his self-appointed role as guardian of his 6th gradesister, a believably precocious child out of J.D. Salinger rather than theusual Hollywood playbook.
Ona dare from his irresponsible roommate, Tyler begins dating pretty Ally (Emilyde Ravin) in a puerile stunt whose purpose is cheap revenge against her NYPDdad (Chris Cooper), who roughed him up at a crime scene. Dad is a hard facedcop who has compensated for the senseless murder of his wife by becoming superprotective of his daughter. The scheme turns inside out when Tyler finds Allyto be smart, charming company. Before he knows what happens, he’s in love. Butwhat will become of the situation when dad finds out?
Remember Me captures the swelteringheat of New York in summer and Tyler’s messy bohemian life as a clerk in thefamed Strand bookstore. The ins and outs of young dating and love are wellhandled, along with the emotional gap between parents and children. Ally’s dadis sympathetic from the start in his angry anguish and even Tyler’scareer-obsessed father reveals a better side in the end. With the countdowntoward the looming disaster at the Twin Towers as the story’s invisible tickingclock, the moral of Remember Me is tovalue those who are important to us, to show them we care. We never know whenwe will meet our personal Armageddon.
