The Forgotten

Julianne Moore could tread water in a vat of frogspawn and make it look interesting.

It's difficult for her here, because she's grieving, which is an obsessive-compulsive disorder that alienates the sufferer from the rest of humanity. All she can think about is Sam, her nine-year-old son, who was killed in a plane crash 14 months ago.

She's called Telly and is married to sensitive/understanding/kind Jim (Anthony Edwards), who can only offer support when required. His role defies the patience of Job, as she teeters on the brink of madness, unable to move on, as if her life belonged to this boy and once he died, she died too, and yet she lives, tortured by loss.

Is it possible that Moore in this state might be painful to watch? Perish the thought! Actually, when you think about it and she goes into Sam's room and brings out his battered baseball glove from the drawer and flitters through his photos again, you stifle a scream: GET OVER IT, GIRL!

The Forgotten is an odd mixture of psychological thriller and sci-fi gobbledegook. Just at the point when scenes with the sensitive/understanding/kind psychiatrist (Gary Sinise) is reaching an unbearable level and the hairs on the back of your neck have wilted, weird things begin to happen, which, in this atmosphere of self-absorbed navel gazing, can only be considered an advance.

What follows places doubt on whether Sam ever existed, or, if he did, might still be alive. Telly joins forces with Ash (Dominic West), an ex-ice hockey star, now alcoholic waster, whose daughter was also on the fated plane. Together, they run and run. Everyone from the FBI, local cops and a bloke with a bad haircut (Linus Roache), who appears to be indestructible, are after them.

By this stage, the plot has lost its marbles. The sci-fi element is completely loopy and the storyline too tangled to make head nor tail. The sad part is that Moore acts her pretty socks off. For what? She should stay in frogspawn and leave paranormal mind controllers to Agents Mulder and Scully.