Unforgettable

Plot synopsis:
In Unforgettable Ray Liotta plays Dr. David Krane, a medical examiner investigating crime scenes for the Seattle Police. While investigating a drug store robbery and murder he discovers a clue that he believes is a direct connection to the unsolved identity of the person who killed his wife. Dr. Krane's wife was found murdered in their home, and the doctor was tried but not convicted, on the grounds that the Police mishandled evidence. Krane, a recovering alcoholic, is still obsessed with solving his wife's murder. Krane attends the lecture of Dr. Martha Briggs (Linda Fiorentino), who is studying the technique of memory transferal in rats that involves injecting spinal fluid from one animal to another. When Krane steals the serum and begins combining it with spinal fluid from recently murdered victims he is able to experience a host of sensations the primary one being the actual visual memory of the murderer in the cases. The major threat to the serum is that it puts tremendous pressure of the human sensory system and can lead to heart attacks in humans. When Dr. Briggs realizes that he has stolen his serum and is abusing it she is both fascinated but alarmed and tries to stop him, or at least attend to him given his drive to continue self-administering the dangerous formula. Krane discovers the identity of the drug store murderer Eddie Dutton (Kim Coates) through his sensory reclaiming of the victim's spinal fluid and also concludes from specific mannerisms of the criminal that Dutton is the man who killed Krane's wife. Police Inspector Don Bresler (Peter Coyote) intervenes to prevent Krane from discovering more about the past of Eddie Dutton, but Detective Stewart Gleick (Chris McDonald) initially against Krane begins to see some possible miss-doings in the Police force and takes steps to support Krane and find the killer of his wife. When Krane gains possession of his own wife's spinal fluid and with Dr. Briggs assistance injects himself with it, the results bring about the discovery and involvement of more than he considered.

Tags: revenge, murder, flashback

Review:
The best points of this sci-fi/mystery/thriller, I thought, were: 1 - very good suspense; 2 - a different-angle story; and 3 - an involving "whodunit" story; 4 - and a fast- moving for a two-hour film.Another big plus: John Dahl directed this, and in his prime.
This movie came on the heels of Kill Me Again, Red Rock West and The Last Seduction.....all of them very entertaining films.This would be best for the first-time viewer, but I still have enjoyed it the three times I've seen it.
Ray Liotta, Peter Coyote, Christopher McDonald and David Paymer all provide good male performances with Liotta playing the central character.Be warned that this story is a bit unbelievable.
"with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan (1988) ,and even "Jennifer eight"(1992)with Andy Garcia (the latter for the murderer's identity).Except for Hitchcock's classic,of course , the movies I mention had disastrous reviews.And however,they have much more imaginative scripts than ,say,"die hard" (one,two or three,take your pick,they are interchangeable)Script for "unforgettable" is more polished than it has been given credit for.It's stunning when,in the end,the two stories come together,this time recalling "dead again" (K.Brannagh ,1991),another movie with an unfairly mediocre reputation;only 2 stars and a half on the Maltin!OK ,the plot for "unforgettable" is far-fetched,but it has an intern logic,and anyway,is it less credible than B.Willis singlehandedly taming a whole bunch of terrorists ?(Die Hard is rated 3 stars!)Ray Liotta is an actor whose parts are not always worthy of himself.He's convincing here:during the whole movie,his face remains sad,wistful,as if he were waging an almost lost war.He rarely smiles,except when he's with his daughters.Linda Fiorentino,once she's provided Liotta with her drug,is not very important for the action (definitely not Ingrid Bergman in "spellbound").And we will be very thankful to Dahl for sparing us the umpteenth love affair between the patient and his doctor.More,we have here a very original ending,marred by the syrupy eponymous song though.It might be a happy end,after all,and which justifies the title.All in all,it's an entertaining movie,mixing smartly sci-fi,thriller,and whodunit.It could become a sleeper..
That doesn't take away the quality of his acting, especially in this film.He really has to lay it on thick as he takes the mind of others through an experimental drug developed by Dr. Martha Briggs (Linda Fiorentino) in an effort to find out who killed his wife (Stellina Rusich).Fiorentino (Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) does a really good job as the research scientist who helps him through his ordeal.The film had other favorites: Kim Cattrall and Peter Coyote, who added to the mystery and suspense.I really like Liotta for his range and you could do a lot worse than spend two hours with him as he catches a killer..
John Dahl's Unforgettable plays around with a trippy high concept premise in which people's memories can be accessed by using an experimental, controversial drug.
Ray Liotta plays the troubled Doctor whose wife has been recently murdered.
Director Dahl is beyond proficient when it comes to thrillers, usually taking on crime pieces with a noirish vibe.
Liotta relies on the information that his detective friend (Peter Coyote) gives him, and combines it with the knowledge he absorbs from his deceased wife's brain, beginning to piece the puzzle together.
Liotta is usually tough, capable and would normally be found playing one of the two cops, but the doctor on the run without a lot of tactical skill suits him and allows the guy some work other than just cops or psychos.
In fact the movie treaded on a good path besides a few stumbles here and there.The movie is about a doctor, Doctor Krane (Ray Liotta), whose wife was murdered.
Later he comes across another doctor, Dr. Martha Briggs (Linda Fiorentino), who has a highly experimental drug that can transfer one person's memories to another person.Well, Dr. Krane uses this drug to try to track down his wife's killer.
When a colleague develops an experimental fluid that allows users to experience the memories of others Krane starts to use it to try and piece together what happened to his wife.
However with the drug impacting on his heart he only has so long to uncover the truth.Some thrillers manage to have good ideas and spoil them with a bad film.
This thriller works well for much of the investigation by Krane  but when it relies totally on the memory drug to move things along it really is very weak indeed.
The direction is good enough to give the illusion of pace and excitement but really it never manages to shake off this central terrible idea and the film suffers as a result.Liotta is always OK in most things but really hasn't much to work with.
Support from McDonald, Coyote, Kim Cattrall and Kim Coates vary between average and good but really they are mainly all red herrings to try and sustain the interest.Overall this is enjoyable in most parts but where it relies on the memory drug heavily it falls down a bit.
Ray Liotta is convincing enough in this mystery film with scifi overtones as Dr. Crane, an accused but acquitted suspect in his wife murder whom steals an experimental mind- expanding yet incredibly dangerous drug from scientist Marta Briggs (Linda Fiorentino) in order to solve the crime and deduce the true killer.
While it may be far from perfect (one or two of the supporting actors drop the ball, the movie as a whole seemed a touch derivative),, it's still perfectly adequate,My Grade: C+Where I saw it: Instant Netflix.
This is a murder mystery with a twist where the man who needs his name cleared tries a experimental drug which gives the user other peoples memories.
Very interesting Sci-Fi thriller directed by John Dahl.
A forensic expert(Ray Liotta)accused of murdering his wife injects himself with an experimental serum that may help identify her killer.
Liotta does well with the role and leads a very solid cast featuring: Linda Fiorentino, Peter Coyote, Christopher McDonald, Kim Cattrall and Kim Coates.
But this isn't a good mystery anyway; the villain's identity is way too easy to guess (if you think about it afterwards, you'll realize that the plot follows practically the ONLY possible path to make the resolution "surprising", although it's far from that.) Ray Liotta is not particularly good here, but Linda Fiorentino, unexpectedly sweet, at least wins our sympathy.
"Unforgettable" has a great first first hour, as Ray Liotta tracks down the man he believes to be his wife's killer.
Linda has developed a drug which, when mixed with another person's spinal fluid, enable Liotta to experience key traumatic experiences in that other person's life.Unfortunately "Unforgettable" becomes so convoluted in the second hour, a viewer may lose interest.
I love Ray Liotta and Linda Fiorentino.
Ray Liotta's hero, a notoriously edgy forensic investigator and ex-drunk haunted by his wife's unsolved murder and taunted by the fact that he'd passed out in the bushes when it was happening, is the perfect tortured soul of a protagonist for a dark, moody thriller like Unforgettable.To be admitted are that its title is not exactly catchy, or very many feet away from cheesy, its villains are Shane Black clichés, the inconsistencies of a few plot details---though it's a sci-fi film---are very questionable, and the coziness of Kill Me Again, Seduction, and Rounders is hardly anywhere to be found through the majority of the movie.
I watched this film on Vudu on a whim about a month ago, I was looking for mysteries or thrillers and I stumbled upon this film somehow, and I have not been able to forget it since.
It sounded weird and out there(it is), it seemed like it would be way outside the mainstream thematically and tone-wise as a film (which it is), and I tend to enjoy movies that are a bit out on a limb and not your every day fair, that stretch the boundaries of storytelling.
I actually found the second half of the film quite a bit more compelling than the first half, and things really picked up at the half way mark, as we begin to understand more about the night David's wife dies.
The whole film is built around this premise, if it intrigues you, watch it, if it doesn't, don't I loved the idea of the drug and experiencing other's memories, it is still a very unique idea, and the way that he has to do it makes it very hard, it is not just simply taking a pill either.
If you are off-put by the idea of a man using an untested drug that induces the memories of other people for the purpose of solving a the murder of his wife(that is not a spoiler, it's in the description) framed as a bit of neo-noir with sci-fi elements and very much a murder mystery, walk on.
First, the cinematography and lighting does very well in setting the tone in the beginning, and in the end, but in other middle parts of the film, it is it's weakest least because of a cheap look, that is the best way to describe it.
Everyone else does a great job in the acting department, especially Ray Liotta, Peter Coyote, and Kim Coats (he is surprisingly sinister and yet very human at times), and actually McDonald isn't bad, I am just guessing he got this crossed with "Happy Gilmore" since they were filmed around the same time, and his performance is quite hammy, though I suppose it does provide a slight reprieve from the ultra-serious tone of the film.
This is not to say if you like those films, you will enjoy this, as this film is not much like either of them in terms of the actual films, they just have similar elements.I did enjoy the fact that Ray Liotta is not cast as the villain for a change.
This film is a heck of a lot better than another Ray Liotta film where he generally plays a good guy, which for me, was middling and kind of boring for the most part.
Other than these two films and "Field of Dreams" or even "Goodfellas" it is very hard to think of a film where Ray Liotta plays a good guy, and after watching this film especially, it is very clear he is more than capable of it.
Although, even though David is a good guy, he does a lot of questionable things, and there are consequences to his actions, which makes this a very believable role for Liotta.
The other actors, for the most part do an admirable job, Peter Coyote is very much worth noting, and was far and away the best performance outside Liotta's, even if the rest of the cast are generally very good actors, they are just not given enough to work with, as the central focus is really on David's hunt for his wife's killer.
Ray Liotta gives an outstanding performance as the movie deserves.
Linda Fiorentino  heard about him and she wants to proof her research that the brain stores its memories in a spinal fluid.
I was pleasantly surprised by Ray Liotta's performance.
However, I enjoyed that his character showed some emotion.There are a lot of twists and turns in this movie and you will be surprised at the ending.
This is an excellent movie from start to finish.I've never been boring during the movie.Ray Liotta is awesome like always and the villains are chosen very good also.The director&composer made an wonderful atmosphere to this movie.I will check if they collaborated to other movies also.
I also liked the twist that was on the end of the movie.
John Dahl is a very good director.He directed also The Last Seduction in which stars Linda Fiorentino also.In Unforgettable Linda Fiorentino didn't shine like in The Last Seduction but it isn't lame either.So i recommend you all to sit back on your bed and watch an entertaining movie like this which is unique.It was a fun thrilling ride..
Ray Liotta is great in this movie, he uses an experimental brain serum to find out who killed his wife.
This movie could have been a great Argento film, except for the fact that it was written and directed by someone else.
All of them, including Unforgettable, have characters obsessed with solving a murder and all are built around an outlandish premise but whereas Argento uses his premises to introduce a myriad of bizarre and unforgettable characters all with something to hide as well as giving us a visual feast of graphic and sometimes outlandish murders, Unforgettable never allows any character to even share Liotta's spotlight.In fact, it could be said that the main character in Argento's films is the spotlight, often times chasing shadows and sometimes illuminating the next victim for the killer.
That actually sort of happens in Unforgettable, but since the spotlight is on Liotta instead of Liotta being the spotlight, its all together less interesting.I highly recommend Unforgettable to people who may be new to Argento, thanks to the DVD revolution making so many of his films available for the first time in an uncut format, especially if said people would like some insight into just what they find so fascinating in his work..
Excellent acting my Ray Liotta, my favorite actor...
I LOVE UNFORGETTABLE AND I LOVE RAY LIOTTA...
The cast includes Ray Liotta, Linda Fiorentino, Peter Coyote, Christopher McDonald, David Paymer, Duncan Fraser, Caroline Elliott, Colleen Rennison, Kim Cattrall, Stellina Rusich, Kim Coates, Suzy Joachim, Garwin Sanford, Janafor Ryane, Jim Broyden, Dean Choe, Mike Crestejo, Joanna Piros, Kevin Hayes, Cheryl Wilson, Nathaniel DeVeaux, Dwight McFee, Claudio Masciulli, Bruce Dawson, Sidonie Boll, Eric Pospisil, Rondel Reynoldson and Brock Chapman.
It is also a love story and a thriller, but I could only give it 5 stars.
Ray Liotta is the puzzled hero who was acquitted of killing his wife but has no idea who really did it.
Liotta, here in a sympathetic role, has kind eyes and likes kids, so is far from being the villain he sometimes plays.
I am somewhat puzzled by the actress Jenafor Ryane, who plays Liotta's sister-in-law in this film and has the custody of his children.
Linda Fiorentino is the winsome love interest here, looking very cute as a scientist who has invented a new technique of transplanting selected memories of traumatic incidents (what are known to neuroscientists as 'amygdala memories' because they are laid down in the amygdala of the brain, though this is not mentioned in the film) by injections of neuro-transmitters, etc, and there are excellently directed and filmed sequences of a cat chasing mice through a maze, some taken at mouse level.
The serum having only been tested on rats in the lab, Liotta hastily injects himself in a madcap attempt to try to find out who murdered his wife.
Ray Liotta gives an excellent performance as a doctor who was accused of murdering his wife.
The only other actor I could image in this role is  Gary Sinise .Ray Liota's keeps the viewer guessing as to what really happened.If you are a Ray Liota fan , watch this movie.
Ray Liotta as a forensic examiner who discovers he can experience and thereby solve his wife's murder by injecting himself with cerebral spinal fluid from those involved.
By the time it's over you may wish you can siphon some CSF from people who saw a better movie that night and mix it with some of Fiorentino's cocktail, grab a syringe, flex your arm...Seriously though, it's a pretty cool story that would have been more successful as a novel.
The atmosphere is one of darkness and violence and the film primarily works through the depth of characterisation offered.Instead of opting for a directly science fiction-style approach, this film works primarily as a murder mystery, with Ray Liotta's obsessive hunt to track down the murderer of his wife.
Liotta demonstrates his own unique brand of acting here and is perfectly cast as Doctor Krane, an intense, paranoid man on a mission of justice whose experiments with the unknown matter lead to a rapidly deteriorating physical condition.
Once again we find Liotta in top form in one of his best acting jobs as a sympathetic but flawed lead and his realistic but dramatic performance holds the film together nicely.
Veteran Peter Coyote also lends weight as a fellow detective helping out Liotta, plus there's a great psychotic turn from Kim Coates as a sadistic serial killer/criminal.UNFORGETTABLE is technically proficient with some well-staged action sequences to recommend it.
Linda Fiorentino has played a couple of self-absorbed seductresses, in "Jade" and "The Last Seduction", and she was extremely good, especially in that last, semi-comic role as an exploitative nympho.
Not exactly Alice in Wonderland but not Selene either.Ray Liotta is the medical examiner whose pregnant wife has been murdered and he begins to self administer the serum in order to recapture the experiences of the murder victim.
The experimenters trained a flatworm to find food at the end of the maze, then they chopped up the flatworm and fed it to a second flatworm in a kind of Planaria pate, and the second flatworm learned the maze more quickly than controls.The premise is full of promise but the story is knee-capped by its obvious desire to become just another action thriller with blood splattering all over the walls and pokers bashing in heads and Ray Liota taking the drug and writhing all over the floor like Jeykll turning into Hyde.The story is sometimes confusing too because, at times, Liota's own flashbacks are interpolated into the flashbacks of a couple of murder victims, so it's hard to tell whose memory (or insight) we're witnessing.
The basic premise is simply ludicrous and it would have been a better movie if the device employed was something simple and straightforward...like magic.As far as the actors, everyone is over the top.
Liotta punches his way through the film like he's still a gangster.