Forgetting the Girl

Forgetting the Girl is a 2012 psychological thriller directed by Nate Taylor, featuring excellent performances from Christopher Denham, Lindsay Beamish, and Elizabeth Rice. The film is a tantalizing blend of drama, mystery and suspense with a slice of dark humor. It’s a deep dive into the intricate framework of human relationships, delving particularly into the dynamics of love, loss, obsession, and the painful process of forgetting someone.

The film places us in the murky lens of Kevin Wolfe (Christopher Denham), a New York City portrait photographer with a painful history. Kevin's childhood left scars too profound to heal, which he attempts to suppress by throwing himself into his work. Denham mesmerizes with his ability to capture the struggle of a damaged man juggling the burden of his past while trying to make connections in the present. His performance is subtlety personified with the seamless shift from congenial to unnerving which maintains the movie's intense atmosphere.

Forgetting the Girl is a pungent study of Kevin's dreary life and his unrequited relationships with women. His life is a series of unreturned affections where the women he loves disappear from his life, leaving him more shattered each time. One such relationship is with Adrienne (Elizabeth Rice), a lively, young woman who walks into his studio for a headshot. Adrienne's fresh energy is a stark contrast to Kevin's gloom, which makes her the tantalizing ray of light that he desperately attempts to hold onto. Elizabeth Rice's nuanced portrayal of Adrienne successfully highlights her character's innocence and charm.

Adding more complexity to the story is Lindsay Beamish's character Jamie, the peculiar assistant in Kevin's studio. She is almost an antithesis to the women Kevin usually falls for, plain-looking and borderline unsettling, yet deeply in love with Kevin. Beamish provides a brilliant performance as Jamie, making her character's longing and vulnerability palpable to the audience.

Through Kevin's journey, the film explores the profound impact of childhood trauma, the intricacy of human emotions, and the desperate need for connection. The cinematography is notable, using hazy bluish tones to portray Kevin's gloomy life and stark, bright colors to depict the surface-level cheerfulness of the women he falls for. These stark visual contrasts reflect the movie's exploration of light and dark elements of human relationships.

The film masterfully keeps a fine balance between Kevin's troubling psychological journey and the dramatic turn of events. It subtly hints at the ominous consequences of pent-up emotions and unrequited love, only to reveal them gradually. Its narrative, combined with a haunting score and sharp editing, ensures the viewers remain on the edge of their seats.

However, in all its layered depiction, Forgetting the Girl doesn’t let go of the relatability factor. It speaks to the common experience of heartbreak and the subsequent need to forget the source of pain. The audience might find themselves empathizing with some of Kevin’s struggles, even if they are taken to an extreme in the movie.

What stands out the most in Forgetting the Girl is the way it eschews clear-cut resolutions and easy answers. It encourages viewers to explore the characters' psychological complexities and confront their darkest fears, without providing them a typical comforting closure. It embraces the disturbing aspects of human psyche instead of shying away from them. The film reaffirms that every person is a cocktail of their past experiences, especially the human mind's inherent coping mechanisms when heartbreak leads to despair.

To sum up, Forgetting the Girl is a film woven around the threads of love and pain in the tapestry of memory and forgetfulness. It is a must-watch for the incredible performances, the intricate exploration of human relationships, and the captivating mood it sets right from the start. For those who appreciate deep, character-driven stories that do not shy away from uncomfortable truths, Forgetting the Girl would make a fascinating watch. Although it offers a bleak portrayal of the human condition, it never fails to be compelling and thought-provoking. It keeps you captivated, making you reflect on personal experiences of love, loss, and the battle to forget.