Since the beginning, we here at Spunk Ransom have supported the Remember Me Saturday movement to support both Rob and his new film, Remember Me. I had such faith in my local community that the Robaholics would be out in full force, crowding the cinemas, and therefore arrived an hour and a half beforehand, with my apathetic younger sister in tow, to avoid the mad rush of fans. However, as you can decipher from the photograph below, it seems at one local theater in good ‘ol Sacramento, California, Rob fans seemed to have forgotten Remember Me Saturday.





Don’t be too disappointed though, some fellow Rob fans did morph through Auditorium #7 doors just in time to squeal as the trailer for Eclipse played. Unfortunately, it was still a mediocre turnout (which I’m holding the 1:05pm showing time was responsible ).


A little of my Rob background and credentials: My journey into Robsession was less than stellar. Having finished reading the first three Twilight books, it wasn’t until I initiated an online search on anything regarding the books that I even knew they were making Twilight into a film. At this point of discovery, Rob and Co. had just finished filming the first Twilight and honestly, I was not a fan of this odd looking chap that was supposed to depict my ideal vision of the perfect man, who just happened to be a vampire. As a film enthusiast, I decided to give this actor’s work a whirl and see just what kind of talent he was capable of producing. It wasn’t long until I had seen all of Rob’s films, including participating in a project that promoted both Little Ashes and How to Be. Needless to say, in the end, Rob captured me within all his essence. Thus, having the opportunity to witness Rob in a completely different capacity had me anxious and stoked.


Moving on… For your reading pleasure, I’ve concocted a little review of Remember Me, which you can read after the cut! Beware: Spoilers included!





Once I grasped what Remember Me was going to be about (Yes, I read the script beforehand. Bad, I know…), I immediately realized that this was Rob’s chance to separate himself from the infamous Edward in addition to portraying a character that wasn’t a wizard-in-training, a shy but adorable outcast or an eccentric (and crazy) Surrealist painter. This time, Rob would be just your ordinary guy, living an ordinary world.


Although I could feel my expectations grow through the months of incessant chatter about the film, I wasn’t let down.


Synopsis: Remember Me encompasses the life of Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson), a 22 year-old guy who has seemed to have lost direction and reason in his life. His demeanor had become unable to cope with the suicide of his older brother, Michael, including the trauma of being the one to discover his body. An unsuccessful musician, Michael had surrendered to reality and begun working for his father, Charles Hawkins (Pierce Brosnan). It was only a short duration Michael worked for his father before succumbing to his demons and thus hanging himself. Tyler, who was seemingly close to his brother, affiliated Michael’s death with his father’s predisposition of disregard for his children’s welfare and dedicating his energies to his business and working. Tyler had since developed immense hostility towards his father, especially when witnessing his younger sister, Caroline (Ruby Jerkins), suffer from paternal neglect.


Living la vida loca complete with constant smoking, drinking and one night stands, Tyler’s enabling friend, Aidan (Tate Ellington), convinces him to go out and party one night. In this one particular night, Tyler observes a physical disagreement ensue between a few strangers nearby. His internal rage seethes past the brink of his ability to rein it in and involves himself in the fight. Police officer, Neil Craig (Chris Cooper) arrives on the scene, arresting those connected to the brawl, including Tyler and Aidan. In thanks to a female bystander, Neil releases Tyler and Aidan on the testimony that they were only attempting to stop the argument. However, despite being deemed innocent, Tyler’s rebellion towards authority gets him and Aidan arrested.


Aspiring to retaliate against Neil for arresting them, Aidan invents the idea that Tyler date and break the heart of Neil’s daughter, Ally (Emilie de Ravin). Still affected by the murder of his wife, Neil and Ally’s relationship also suffers. While falling for and attempting a relationship with Ally, Tyler struggles with protecting the emotional welfare of Caroline and his resentment towards his father.


Critique (*SPOILERS INCLUDED*): Seeing Rob as Tyler was a significant change from playing Edward Cullen. Though internally inflicted like Edward, Tyler is genuinely lost without allowing his female companion to heal his ails. Instead, Tyler fights for his father’s attention on Caroline’s behalf. The relationship that Tyler has with Caroline is real and sweet. Rob successfully illustrated Tyler’s conflict with his father and the missing piece of himself that died with his brother. Rob’s performance in Remember Me was superb, even with a couple small parts of awkwardness, like the first few lines in the boardroom argument scene with Pierce. I also didn’t hear the supposed Brooklyn accent coming from Rob, but that’s no biggie. It’s a hard accent to mimic and besides Chris Cooper, I didn’t catch anyone else having one either. His connection with Emilie was more than I had expected. That too seemed natural. In my opinion, this role redefines Rob and convinces me that he will escape being type casted; his range is evident. All the actors did great, especially Ruby (who was beyond adorable and convincing), conveying the characters effortlessly.


Apart from the actor’s performances, the downside of the film was the script. I waited until after seeing the movie to read any reviews from critics and the script seems to be a common issue. The message of the film is clear, however, it was the flow of the story that was underdeveloped. The focus of the film jumped quite often and I think that aspect could have been improved; the transition between scenes could have collectively run smoother. The pace of the film was slightly unbalanced as well.


The ending wasn’t a surprise to me since I had read the script months ago. Nevertheless, the emotional consequence of it still affected me. It reminds me much of the ending from American Beauty. Just as everything becomes stable, resolved and promising for Tyler, he meets his demise. The original script had Michael’s death a cause of the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in the early 90s. I liked the change writers had made in that regard. Otherwise, that would have been incredibly unrealistic. Though I was indirectly affected by the September 11th attacks, I don’t think the ending was offensive like some critics had said. If anything, I think it shows how the incident shattered families, relationships, lives of those who were loved and lives that were on the verge of great potential.


Overall, out of 5 stars… I give the film 3.5 and the best role Rob has played to date! (With Daniel Gale being a close second )

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