reviewed by Charity Bishop

        

Movies rampant with psychological games are popular with audiences because they challenge the human mind, and dare us to believe that what we take for granted may not be true. This part sci-fi, part supernatural thriller has a intriguing premise and fantastic conclusion.

For the previous six months, Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) has been mourning the loss of her son. Sam got on a plane with a bunch of other children and never returned. His summer plans for camp were brought to a brutal halt when the plane crashed into the sea, leaving no survivors. Spending her days paging through photo albums and watching family movies, Telly is working with her empathetic psychologist Dr. Munce (Gary Sinise) to overcome her all-consuming grief. Her husband is concerned for her state of mental health, saying that she's become forgetful. She doesn't remember where she put her coffee cup, or even if she had one. Her car is parked on the wrong side of the street. Then things truly begin to disappear. The photo albums go blank. The home movies are erased. Her son's things vanish into thin air.

Believing her husband is at the bottom it, Telly is astonished to be told by family and friends that she doesn't have a son. She's been imagining the whole thing. Possibly caught up in a delusion, she goes to Ash (Dominic West), the father of one of the other children lost in the crash. At first he denies having lost a little girl, or even remembering her name, but when Telly tears apart his apartment and reveals signs that a child has indeed been there, his memories come pouring back. The case comes to the attention of Anne (Alfre Woodard), a detective with the police force, who cannot understand why two people would have the same delusion. As Ash and Telly begin the search for their children, and question reality itself, they encounter a mysterious figure who seems to haunt their every step.

The previews make this look like a ghostly thriller, but in reality it's an interesting twist on the concept of extra-terrestrial influence in our lives. Ash and Telly are both interesting characters that the audience immediately identifies with, but at the same time a nagging thought at the back of our mind questions if they are both insane. The neatest thing about this is the mysterious man who follows in their footsteps, and makes several dramatic appearances. The climax is fantastic, and while the ending is a little surprising, it fulfills all the emotions the audience are expecting. There are a few comments about sex, but no implications. We (and Ash) briefly see Telly in her underwear. In another scene, they're forced to share a bed and lay down on top of the covers. They start to kiss, but stop before anything happens. (This scene is absent from the original cut.) There are two abuses of Jesus' name, four of GD, one muffled f-word, and some mild profanities. Violence consists of several explosions, main characters fighting with cops (in order to escape custody), and individuals being zapped by some outside force that simply eradicates them from the face of the earth. A woman is electrocuted repetitively attempting to enter another dimension.

I watched the Director's Cut of the film, so I don't know how the original's alternate ending differs, or if there are any further content concerns. It does move a little slowly, but is rewarding for the patient viewer.