Forgotten (1999– ) User Reviews

Intelligent psychological drama (possible spoiler)

[BookPoet · 10/10 · 16 July 2002]

Many mystery stories follow the standard whodunit path: murder most foul, gathering of clues, gaggle of possible perps, sprinkling of red herrings, and inevitable showdown between clever evildoer and even more clever crime solver.

"Forgotten" abandons the well-trod and gives us complex characters who may or may not have committed terrible acts. The fact that at the end of three episodes we have no easy answers and no neatly-tied package might frustrate some, but for me it was the indication of an intelligently crafted tale which probes, disturbs, and haunts with the question: What does an evil person look like?

Excellent acting and production combine to make a mystery not easily... forgotten.

Interesting modern English village whodunnit

[bernie minim · 15 July 2002]

This was presented in the US on Public Television's "Mystery" in three parts, which I taped and watched in one sitting. Amanda Burton is outstanding in a role which is slow to develop but full of passion. Overall, a great sense of drama and betrayal, filled with characters of no great physical beauty but considerable dimension. I did have some problems with the accents and dialog, although I generally have less difficulty with this than most Americans. While I thought I had sussed out the mystery, I found myself second guessing and the ending is a stunner. Certainly more demanding than most of the "Mystery" offerings, and maybe for a certain palate. Oh, and the lead detective is certainly unique.

Who dunnit or Why dunnit?

[annieoz · 10/10 · 27 October 1999]

Tight script, good direction, excellent performances, strong cast, effective use of locations....

Paul McGann gives a detailed, subtle performance as the man in the centre of a new murder investigation who may just have committed a similar murder previously.

There is an interesting moral & emotional journey happening with his character (Ben Turner) and it intersects with the journey undertaken by Amanda Burton. Inevitably they cross over... Who has done what?

The examination of WHY, both in the past and in the present, rather than WHO might have yielded a more interesting, Dostoyevskian story, but hey, who's complaining?

Brilliant

[Cazanya · 10/10 · 21 February 2006]

This is possibly the best short crime drama I've ever seen. The acting is superb especially Amanda Burton who's character goes from scary to sweet to disturbing to sad and then some...She does an amazing job balancing Rachels/Carlas feelings and acting out the pain of someone who's lost a child, its so believable that it feels more like a real life story then a drama. The other actors are of course great too which they usually are in British TV/Film. The ending,which I'm not going to give away,is fantastic mainly because you don't really get one... (you'll get what I mean after you've seen it) This is well worth buying and seeing over and over again and if you're not touched by this you're one cold hearted person.

last episode a rush to end the story

[gerry8 · 16 July 2002]

after two nights of very well-written character development and plot development I was very dis-satisfied with the rushed ending...all of a sudden the teacher of the kids in this Cotswold village turns out to be the bad guy and a whispered piece of information does away with the by-this-time accepted theory that Ben did not kill Annie...it almost seemed as though the writer was penning in these outcomes as we were watching the third episode unravel...I was very disappointed in the ending in what had been a very absorbing play acted by very accomplished people...

This could be viewed as a partial spoiler.

[deweygg · 15 July 2002]

We watched this movie on Public Television. It was enjoyable and the acting was excellent. However, in reference to Annie's death, we still do not know for sure who the killer was. I have 2 theories, but without a book to check, it will remain a mystery.