FOREVER MINE

US, 1999, 115 minutes, Colour.
Joseph Fiennes, Ray Liotta, Gretchen Mol, Vincent Laresca.
Directed by Paul Schrader.

Forever Mine is an odd film from writer-director, Paul Schrader who had a significant career in the 1970s into the 1980s with writing such films for Martin Scorsese as Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. Schrader himself moved into directing in the late 1970s with Blue Collar and Hardcore. He also wrote the screenplay, again for Scorsese, for The Last Temptation of Christ.

Admired as a film critic and writer, especially his study of transcendence in cinema, his later career was mixed with this kind of film, success with The Walker, and then the bizarre Lindsay Lohan film, The Canyons.

This film has several time levels, the 1980s in a resort the Florida, with Ray Liotta and his trophy wife, Gretchen Mol. Joseph Fiennes plays a cabana boy who becomes infatuated with the wife and they begin an affair, the husband arranging for the cabana boy to be shot.

The other time level is the 1990s, with the cabana boy surviving, having face surgery, becoming a significant and mysterious Latin American banker, with the other cabana boy as his associate. They travel to New York City, allegedly to give advice to Liotta, but also to see his wife again. There are complications on the legal and financial level, another attempted killing, as well as a romantic pair reuniting to fulfil the title, Forever Mine.

1. An American melodrama? Romance? Credible?

2. Paul Schrader and his career? Writer, director? The poor response to this film?

3. Florida, wealthy hotels and resorts? Exotic? New York, wealthy homes, politics, the law? Crime and violence? The musical score?

4. The title, the romantic tone?

5. The opening in the plane, Alan and his companion, the disfigurement to his face, talking, his friend and his being chatty with the passengers?

6. The flashbacks, the role of the cabana boys at the hotel, Alan’s age, experience, studies, surface, the discussions with his friend, the background of drugs, dealing, prison? Seeing Ella come out of the water? His infatuation, talking to his friend, Ella’s attention, the beginning of the affair, in view, the effect, continuing?

7. Ella, the marriage, difficulties, her relationship with Mark, her response to Alan?

8. Mark, the trophy bride, business, his self-assurance, looking down on Alan?

9. The thugs, the trap, shooting Alan, throwing him into the building site, covered? His getting out?

10. 13 years passing, little explanation, the surgery to his face, his becoming wealthy, the bank, Javier as his associate? Offering advice to Mark? Mark as a client? The changes, Mark recognising him? The meetings, the lawyer, advice?

11. Alan, his change of name, his accent, the bank, the law?

12. Javier, his past, the drugs, the money, prepared for risks? The encounter with Mark’s thug, following him, the tanning machine, killing him, the threat to the receptionist?

13. Alan, the encounters with Ella, not recognising him, her having told Mark all about the affair, Mark having read his letters? Ella lonely, reading to the elderly, courses,?

14. Alan, his approach, her being uncomfortable, reaction?

15. Alan going to the house, leaving the chain, Ella returning, quoting his past sayings, the recognition, resumption of love, the affair, love forever?

16. The plan to go away, leaving, Mark finding them, confronting Alan, the fight, shooting, the wounds, Ella and her arrival?

17. The open ending, Mark and his having been shot, Ella and attending Alan? Would Alan recover?