Slivers of urban living, not quite city symphonies of the condition of the high streets and alleyways of a town with a complicated history like London: these hold a special attraction. “Forget Me Not,” written by Mark Underwood, and directed by first-timers Alexander Holt and Lance Roehrig (who’ve made shorts together), swoops from city lights to golden-lit cafes and restaurants. Musician meets barmaid. Trouble finds trouble. Night turns to day and fortunately to night again in their first twenty-four hours of acquaintance, and the co-directors’ pacing has the kind of understated confidence that reassures. Modest, intermittently poetic, keen on fate and fatefulness, it’s sweet diversion, even with an overly sturdy use of the London Eye landmark. Avoid the inevitable comparison to Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” and his masterpiece, “Before Sunset.” With Tobias Menzies and Genevieve O’Reilly as the couple that might not have come to be: their chemistry breaks all bonds of narrative forethought. Gemma Jones’ turn as a grandmother with failing faculties takes advantage of the gifts that Woody Allen only billboards in her role as a meddlesome psychic in his indigestible “You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.” 93m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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