...from an otherwise top-notch writer/director who must have been on one serious bender or another to create something so remarkably mundane, despite some nice work from Gretchen "The Notorious Bettie Page" Mol as Ella, the romantic focus of this half-baked bodice-ripper, and Ray "Goodfellas" Liotta, as the stereotypical shady, possessive, violent husband. Unfortunately, it also features Joseph "Shakespeare in Love" Fiennes taking a paycheck with his eyebrows as the passionate Miami cabana boy who's fallen for Ella and swears undying, smoldering devotion. Everything goes downhill from there, including some of the worst aging and make-up effects I've seen in a feature film in some time. Small wonder it never made it into theaters; I'm sure test audiences roasted it! Of interest only to fans of Mol, who demonstrates the ease with nudity that landed her the titular role in Mary Harmon's classy-but-sassy bio-pic, "The Notorious Bettie Page," or maybe dedicated Liotta followers or Fiennes groupies who can't get enough of their boy. Cinemaphiles will otherwise find nothing of interest to retain in their memory banks. A watch-once DVD, unless maybe you want to hear Schrader's commentary, which so far I haven't and very likely never will. Earns its 5/10 from me strictly on Ms. Mol's charms and precious little else.
Review of Forever Mine
