The Forgiven

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source: The Forgiven

The result is a powerful, engrossing, thought-provoking film about the morality and privilege of the rich and powerful, filled with scathing explorations of social class and culture that asks its characters difficult questions about guilt, remorse and privilege. 9/10.

Did I mention Trash. I want my time back. If only I could have my time back. This movie is really bad. Save your time. Instead maybe watch paint dry. It will be more enjoyable.

It's set about 2020 in the Moroccan desert at a luxurious villa during a large weekend party. The film examines the interactions among the Western hosts and party guests and their intersection with local Moroccans, especially after a fatal accident. David Henninger (Ralph Fiennes) is a high-functioning alcoholic British oncologist with a much younger wife, Jo (Jessica Chastain). Jo is an author of children's books but has not published for nearly 10 years. They're on their way, driving at night towards the party hosted by David's old friend, Richard Galloway (Matt Smith), and Galloway's partner, Dally Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones). Unfortunately, Henninger is driving too fast and arguing with Jo when they hit and kill a teenage Moroccan who appears to be preparing to rob them. The film then follows two threads--The first is the "investigation" by the police, the arrival of the dead boy's father, Abdellah Taheri (Ismael Kanater), and David's reluctant agreement to return with Abdellah to his home in the desert as part of the grieving process. The second thread follows the ongoing party at the villa and Jo's interaction with the hosts and with Tom Day (Christopher Abbott), an American financial advisor and perpetual playboy. In the background observing are Moroccan staff like Anouar (Saïd Taghmaoui). This is not a flattering picture of Westerners, but the Moroccans also lack a clear understanding of the Westerners. The title hints at a resolution that may or may not have meaning. For me, the ending was unsatisfying but not surprising. In fact, it was a bit telegraphed. Ralph Fiennes is excellent as a racial bigot forced to confront himself in the desert. Ismael Kanater is good as the grief-stricken father who is ambivalent about how to respond to his son's death. The movie has gotten mixed reviews; I actually thought it was good in exploring intercultural relationships, especially myopic Western arrogance about non-Western cultures.

... Comparison and contrast of the haves and the havenots. People ensconced in their customs and way of life and people who don't respect other peoples not like them. I do want to believe that the Finnes character did have an arc and his casual racism, condescension, and insultinf ways were replaced with understanding and respect. That he actually was very sorry, rather than just saying he was sorry. I think he did. I don't think he liked himself very much. The cinematography and the home where a lot of the action takes place is gorgeous.

....and I didn't really care. Snore of a film with great cast wasted on yet another terrible script. I get the lack of morals and compassion but these people are parasites. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The writer takes two extremes of western and arab culture - represented here by a group of hedonist aristocrats and a desert tribe - and uses an incident that brings them together to examine how they interact. The core of the story is the interaction between dignity and honour culture, and we see how good men can be swayed to both good and bad acts by the influence of their respective value systems. The film neither patronises the viewer nor indulges in self-regard. The dialogue snaps along and the cast deliver authentic performances - there are no phone-ins here.

This was literally the most boring and pointless movie ive ever watched in my entire life. Its 2 hours of torture seriously. It wasnt funny, it wasnt scary, it wasnt dramatic, it wasnt thrilling, it wasnt sad, it wasnt happy, IT HAS ABSOLUTLEY NO POINT AT ALL LOL. Also, what was with all of the super older men with super young girls?? I hate this movie with every fiber of my being and i wish i had a men in black thing to erase it from my memory honestly.

The sets and landscapes are breathtaking. The cinematography outstanding. The performances are all stellar. And even though the pacing is slow enough to make the 117 min runtime feel much longer, writer and director John Michael McDonagh still manages to capture every special close-up shot and proverbial comment well enough to drive the hidden messages right through your heart. However, as pretty and shiny as this film is, all the bloated intrigue and drama fails to deliver the true depth of the film. There's just too much filler and not enough substance. This film needed the mysteries and messaging to be harder, and the shallow pretentious eye-candy to be softer. Even the predicable ending could've been more exciting. Nevertheless, a beautifully shot film with excellent performances that still manages to deliver a thought provoking message when morality is crossed with spoiled and entitled privilege, and the consequences that follow. It's a great one-time watch and a well deserved 7/10 from me.