by Frank Calvillo
Kiefer and Donald Sutherland have both earned their places as icons of American cinema thanks to long and storied careers that have resonated with the public for decades. Its always been a wonder then why, although they have appeared in the same projects before (sans sharing any scenes), that the two never acted on screen together. With Forsaken, that wonder is gone as the two have finally found a project which not only offers them the chance to act opposite one another, but also remind audiences of what talented actors they really are.
In Forsaken, John Henry Clayton (Kiefer Sutherland) returns home to his small frontier town to discover his mother has died and his father (the elder Sutherland) harbors resentment for an accident that happened many years before. While the former soldier tries to make things right with his father as well as his former love Mary-Alice (Demi Moore) and come to grips with his violent past, a threat is sweeping over the town in the form of developer James McCurdy (Brian Cox), who is intent on buying up all the land in the town, even if it means taking it with the assistance of his second-in-command Dave Turner (Michael Wincott).
It occurred to me a few minutes into the beginning of Forsaken, that there is not much to chew on in terms of plot. Its core storyline and details are minimal and, frankly, unspectacular. The setup stays true to the tradition of many a great western: a stranger or long-lost figure returns, no one is pleased to see him, he wrestles with romance, encounters trouble and (usually) emerges victoriously. Forsaken may not offer anything new, but in the end such a factor hardly matters.
This is a character study, and a pretty darn solid one at that, where each one of the characters placed in front of the audience are wrestling with the past and/or the present. Indeed Forsaken is seeped in emotional conflict, which thanks to director Jon Cassar and screenwriter Brad Mirman, are in rich supply here. This is a story of redemption with a son trying to find the love he thought he lost from his father and a father learning how to accept his son. It is also a story of regret with John Henry and Mary-Alice continuously wondering what could have been and mourning what never got the chance to be. Scenes of such nature are slow and offer none of the typical thrills that are usually found in such a genre, but they also have the emotional power to be nothing short of spectacular and give audiences the kind of emotional pull only found in the movies.
I must also applaud the extensive detail with regards to character Mirman has taken here, especially in that of Dave. While it’s oh so easy to craft another moustache-twirling heavy, with Dave, Forsaken is blessed with what can only be described as a moral villain, who acts out not with gunfire, but with intelligence.
Watching the two Sutherlands act together is a definite treat and one that many movie lovers have surely been longing for. The two actors are so electrifying to watch, even in the most minimal of scenes. Without question though, the best moment between the two comes during John Henry’s confession to his father, in which he recalls to the exact darkness of his past. Its a truly great moment between parent and child which proves so beautiful and worth a viewing of Forsaken all on its own.
As for the rest of the actors, Cox is dependable as usual, and Wincott proves a scene stealer, making Dave a mesmerizing figure. Only Moore fails to bring life to her character. It isn’t that the actress is out of her depth playing a frontier wife, its just that her role is so totally uncharacteristic of the actress in comparison to the screen image she spent so much of her career cultivating.
Character pieces aren’t for everyone. Most audiences, especially those going to Westerns to see nothing but two hours of horseriding and gun fights, will surely be disappointed by how little there is of either one in Forsaken. Yet, if they look close enough, they’ll see a surprisingly touching and honest story of redemption featuring some impeccable acting by one of the movie’s most well-respected father/son duos.
