The Unforgettable is not quite so

'Enough no more, it is not so sweet now as was before.'

The words of Shakespeare in his terrific Twelfth Night come alive in The Unforgettable, when actor Raji James expresses his disgust for the heroine (Sofia Hayat). It's a known fact that we hurt the ones we love. But the film explores how cruel we can be with the ones we love.

Sofia looks like a chameleon in the film. She looks different in every mood. She has obviously practiced her lines well, as she gets the tone and rhythm right. Every character in the film claims that Sofia is full of desire. Yet, it shows men wanting to get more of her -- showing off their desires rather than hers.

What goes against the film is the length. It just goes on and on. Showing a frustrated man is fine. But showing his frustration in his walk, his talk, his drinking, his whining, his tears, his wailing... gets too much. We get the picture that he is sad; the directors do not have to go to such great lengths over and over again. Yet, his love for Sofia always comes across as lust, nothing more.

The editing is another piece of mystery. The film swings abruptly from the past to the future and back to the present, confusing you about whether the scene is in the present or some other time frame. The cinematography, on the other hand, is good, as the camera captures the lovely morning and evening light well.

The lead couple displays such powerful performances that the rest of the actors look like amateurs. In fact, they look like props designed around the lead pair.

The music is another prop that enthralls only when it plays in the background highlighting emotion.

The film has liberal doses of nudity, and most of it is uncensored. But the directors Sabrina Louis and Arsala Qureshi have captured the scenes well. When Sofia emerges out of the waters without clothes, the scene does not look vulgar. The same goes for the lovemaking scenes, the shower scenes, the waterfall scenes...

I will always wonder which scenes the Censor Board had asked to be removed, as the makers claimed that the most interesting scenes were deleted. What was left to show anyway?

Rediff Rating: