Gone But Not Forgotten (2005)

One of my all time favorites.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

American readers of bestselling novels do seem to have a taste for rather vicious stories. In a lot of these books, the baddie doesn't quietly do someone in with arsenic as in a lot of Agatha Christie novels. Instead, victims are tortured before the coup de grace, often in some rural setting like a swamp or a barn with implements similar to the instruments of torture used during interrogations in the Middle Ages. Maybe American's taste for the ghoulish shouldn't be surprising given that this country boasts sustaining some of the most gruesome of crimes, such as the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders of the 1930's or the Zodiac killer of the late 1960's and 1970's. The average American could be equally entertained (or repulsed, depending upon your point of view) by devouring true crime books as well as crime fiction. "Gone But Not Forgotten" is a novel adapted for cable that chronicles two series of heinous crimes, both 10 years apart.Scott Glenn, in maybe the most fiendish role of his career, portrays Martin Darius, a Sacramento magnate-developer who may have had a previous life in upstate New York in a small town called Hunter's Point where his wife and daughter were mercilessly dispatched. Fast-forward 10 years. He has now changed his name and swings big development deals in Sacramento, California. There, a serial kidnapper is on the loose who has a taste for young uppity women who are both attractive and rich. The kidnapper snatches each woman and leaves a calling card that says "Gone But Not Forgotten" along with a black rose. It is unclear whether these victims are alive or dead. Ten years earlier, there was also a serial kidnapper in Hunter's Point who did the same thing: kidnap a young beautiful woman from society's upper-crust and leave the same calling card with a similar black rose.When the authorities learn that one of the victims had been having an affair with Darius, he becomes a suspect. He entices up-and-coming crackerjack attorney Betsy Tannenbaum (Brooke Shields) to take his case, partially by offering a $100,000 fee of attainder. Alan Page (played by Lou Diamond Philips) is the detective on the case who also begins researching the crimes at Hunter's Point. He is unexpectedly visited by a detective from New York, Nancy Gordon played by Marilu Henner (of Taxi fame), who had been on the Hunter's Point case. But strangely, the files regarding the Hunter Point case are missing. And then Henner goes missing. Both Shields and Philips decide to investigate further at Hunter's Point, 3000 miles away.A decent but rather brutal crime drama. At one point, a lot of characters end up murdered. The final solution is interesting if not incredibly disturbing. This may not be as brutal as the recent film "The Changeling" but it comes close. Not for the feint of heart. Although I believe in the freedom of entertainment, I do have to wonder what purpose it serves for people to continue devouring material of such gruesome content.

Have not viewed any films of Brooke Shields in quite a few years and was completely surprised at her great acting performance as a lawyer named Betsy Tannebaum. Betsy is married and has a cute young girl but is separated from her husband. Scott Glenn, (Martin Darius/Peter Lake) is a very wealthy business man who has been watching the great accomplishments of Betsy Tannebaum as a lawyer in winning her court cases and decides to hire her in case he just might need her in any criminal offenses he might be involved in because there was a serial killer who was killing young women and he was going to be a likely suspect. Lou Diamond Phillips, (Alan Page) plays the role as a District Attorney and gives a great supporting role to this great mystery murder story that has many twists and turns and will keep you held in suspense. Great Film, Great Actors, Enjoy.

I can't imagine that I've never seen a worse movie than this, but I can't think of one off the top of my head. I suppose it's possible that it gets better after the first ninety minutes or so, but I wouldn't know since I couldn't take any more of this film's "acting." To be fair, though, when the writing is as bad as it is in this film, even good acting can't save it. I guess somebody involved in this pile of garbage realized this early on and told the actors not to bother trying.When a supposedly highly skilled trial lawyer argues that everyone is innocent until proved guilty (as opposed to arguing that the system is based on the presumption of innocence until guilt is proved), you know the legal side of things is going to be a shambles. Fortunately the police-procedural part of the show is such a wreck, you barely notice how terrible the rest of the movie is.Avoid at all costs. It wouldn't be fair of me to refrain from pointing out that I got this for free and I still feel like I was ripped off.

I use to work as a reader (Someone who reads various material and recommends it to be made into a feature film) and this novel was at the top of my list since it first came out years back. So I was all out surprised when I just happened upon it on DVD at the video store a few weeks ago. I was initially apprehension to see how such dark material would be transferred into a T.V. format. However, I then recalled that the novel's plot was fairly elaborate and could only be done justice as a two-part T.V. movie. And after watching this, I did indeed find myself quite impressed with the entire effort -- Acting, directing, writing, even some of the cinematography. This, despite the material being "Lifetime"-enhanced a bit, as well as a pretty bad little plot convenience near the end.Overall, I recommend the movie and strongly recommend the book.