So what do we make of that ending? I was ever so slightly spoiled on it because so many reviewers are feeling the need to talk about how offended they are. Knowing that there was going to be a "twist" of sorts and that it involved a tragedy, I began to notice hints from the very beginning when we learn the film takes place in 2001, to the scene where Tyler's professor discusses terrorism. So by the time the camera zoomed out to reveal his location in one of the Twin Towers, I had seen it coming. At that point, I feared what would be so affronting would be how it was portrayed. I imagined an effects shot of Tyler looking up as a plane crashed through the windows in front of him. But to the contrary, there was no such graphic depiction. The final scenes were done very tastefully, recalling the disaster that happened that day without forcing us to watch anything horrific. The final scene brings the film thematically full circle--that life is fragile and we must live "in the moments" as Remember Me's tagline states. It's far from a great film, but it is better for that ending.
So the question I pose is: Why is this so offensive? Too soon?? We've already had two major theatrical films dealing directly with 9/11 events--United 93 and World Trade Center--that came out several years ago. To that you might say that people knew what they were getting into with those movies. True. But what about the Adam Sandler vehicle, Reign Over Me? That was a simple drama where it turned out Sandler's character was torn apart from losing his family on September 11th. Why no outrage with that film? Because the event had happened in the past in that case? I don't buy it. Yes, for some viewers, Remember Me's final moments will come as quite a surprise but I disagree that they are exploitative or make the film "the most offensive of the year".
I wasn't in New York on that fateful day, but I was in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 and I know how such a catastrophe can shake our world to the core. But it has been almost nine years. Are we so fragile STILL that we can't see the events of September 11 gracefully depicted on screen without feeling insulted by the filmmakers? Remember Me shows how just one person came to that fateful day and what it meant to his friends and his family. I think it's time that we can look back on those events and remember them but also learn from what we lost.
What do you think dear readers? Should I be offended? And am I crazy to think Pattinson has acting chops? Let me know in the comments.
