Paul Schrader's Forever Mine tells a not-very-compelling, still-less-credible story of love, betrayal, and retribution. A cabana boy (Joseph Fiennes) at a Florida beach resort falls hard for a gorgeous guest (Gretchen Mol)... more » neglected by her wheeler-dealer husband (Ray Liotta). After a steamy nude scene and a sweet, barefoot date, Fiennes follows her home to New York and declares undying love. Mol, a good Catholic girl who reads Madame Bovary, confesses the affair to Liotta. Being shadier than she realizes, he arranges to have nasty things befall his rival. Cut to 14 years later (though in fact the movie has been shuffling time periods since the beginning): Fiennes, long presumed dead, resurfaces to lend his talents (he's become a master criminal) to the now thoroughly corrupt Liotta and see what his beloved is up to. Fiennes has a new name, and a scar on one side of his face, so neither recognizes him. You don't have a problem with that, do you? Nonrecognition is always a tricky proposition in movies, but Forever Mine's problems don't end there. Fiennes, sans Shakespeare in Love beard and Bardlike charisma, doesn't begin to suggest a guy who'd inspire obsession. His costar's attempt at creating a soul sister to Emma Bovary is as underacted as it is underwritten, and Liotta's husband is just a lout, despite a desperate stab at giving him a virtually literary sensitivity regarding his romantic one-upping. You want a spellbinding Schrader movie about outré passion and literary mystery, look up The Comfort of Strangers. --Richard T. Jameson« less
This movie is lush, mesmerizing...for some reason, I love it
Justine Ryan | 05/01/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The music, the lighting, the chemistry... I taped it when it was on TV, but will buy it when it is finally available on DVD. I'm usually a skeptical movie-watcher, and there are some lines here that others will call cheesy, but I think these superb actors make them believable. At one point, Ray Liotta says to Joseph Fiennes' over-the-top romantic character: "What is this gibberish? Nobody talks like this!" As a viewer, I was thinking the same thing, but believing in Fiennes' character nonetheless, and that scene made the character even more believable.Gretchen Mol is lovely. The scene where she reads "Madame Bovary" to the elderly is so poignant...it's a shame this movie's distribution fell apart, because she deserved to be seen in this.This is one of those movies I find myself watching again. Someone on salon.com did a great review of it...still available if you do a search for "salon" "forever mine"."
JOSEPH IS SOOOOO FINE
Justine Ryan | Melbourne, Australia | 03/23/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Ok Ok, so from the other reviews, I understand what they mean.
Forever Mine is not the best movie in the world, but I think the sexy and always breathtaking Joseph Finnes and wonderful Gretchen Mol add something special to this love story.
It's kind of a love/hate relationship. I love the section when they first fall in love complimented by an awersome sex scene with a naked Joseph Fiennes. The second half of the film is still good, but does fall short of being one of those films where it is all wonderful, and you know you have found a gem of a film.
But all the same I keep on returning to watch the film.
"
Beautifully shot, but been here before.
Steven Sprague | Newport Beach, CA | 01/28/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Unfulfilled beautiful wife of powerful rich man falls for a passionate but poor cabana boy at a luxury resort hotel. Jealous husband finds out about affair, ultimately choosing a violent conclusion to the drama. A "road well travelled" movie that is often nice to look at (especially Gretchen Mol) but ultimately fails with a strong sense of having "been there before". Ray Liotta as the jealous husband effectively sleepwalks through his role - effective because he's a natural at playing the "prick." Gretchen Mol is convincing as the beautiful wife torn between passion and comfort as long as she doesn't speak. Joseph Fiennes is actually quite effective and believable as the obsessively romantic cabana boy but does not quite succeed in making the transition to powerful gangster during the second half of the film. FOREVER MINE begins with a quote from Philosopher critic Walter Pater, "It is the addition of strangeness to beauty that constitutes the romantic character in art." Fiennes as the cabana boy seems to emulate Pater's philosophical reverence for "the moment" as the ultimate truth, and the film is most effective in this realm. When director Schrader changes direction midway, from picturesque romantic drama to revenge suspense, the film looses its magic and "the moment" is lost."
IMPASSIONATE PASSION
Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 07/10/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I have felt that Paul Schrader is one of those artsy directors who critics love, but his movies rarely approach classic status, with the exception of "Taxi Driver." In FOREVER MINE, which is indeed reminiscent of oldies like BACK STREET or MADAME X, Joseph Fiennes plays a cabana man, a beach boy, who finds himself madly in love with the lovely Gretchen Mol. His reason for falling in love so quickly extends from seeing her come out of the ocean in a white bathing suit (Bo Derek in 10?). Mol, of course, is recently married to her boss, the slimy Ray Liotta. Their steamy affair sparks the first half of the movie, and then we flash forward about 14 years and we meet Fiennes again on an airplane, a new identity, heading for New York. He wants revenge on Liotta, who after Mol confesses of her affair, had Fiennes killed, or so he thought.
This movie is filmed nicely and Mol does a job worthy of Lana Turner or Susan Hayward, but Fiennes is less passionate than a John Gavin, and Liotta is just wasted in a poorly written role. That's the main problem with this movie---for a passionate film, it has no passion or soul. How can we really care about Fiennes or even Mol, for that matter? He is more in lust, and she is dumb enough to stay with Liotta, even after knowing what he did to Fiennes.
FOREVER MINE is a soap opera for sure, but it doesn't have a lot of bubbles."
Fiennes and Mol Light Up the Screen
Lee Ann Vance | Avon Lake, Ohio USA | 10/15/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I watched Forever Mine last night and thought it was a pretty decent essay of an extramarital affair. We begin in the 1970's where Alan (Fiennes) is working at a swank hotel as a cabana boy. When he sees Ella, played by Mol, he falls instantly in love with her. The problem is she's married to a lowlife businessman (Ray Liotta, in full scumbag mode). They begin an affair which results in Alan getting disfigured from Liotta's goons and left for dead. Now it's 1987 and Alan is returning for revenge.The dialogue is very cliche heavy, with dreamy declarations of love between Ella and Alan. But I thought that Fiennes and Mol were believable as the doomed duo. Liotta has got to stop playing the heavy. After seeing Heartbreakers and Blow, I know he's an amazing actor who can do so much more."