Gretchen Mol topless

Gretchen Mol in Forever Mine

I wonder if Gretchen would have achieved the stardom predicted for her if this movie had ever been released and had become a major hit.

Before I watched it all the way through, it had been something of a mystery to me. “Why was this film was never released theatrically?” I wondered. It was directed by long-time Hollywood insider Paul Shrader, one of the industry’s best screenwriters, who wrote three Martin Scorsese masterpieces, including Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. It stars Joseph “Shakespeare” Fiennes, then a hot property. It was shown in Toronto and Telluride. It has some beautiful cinematography by John Bailey, and when was the last time you saw a straight-to-VHS film in a gorgeous 2.35:1 aspect ratio?

Lots of plusses. So what went wrong?

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I now see why nobody took a chance on this film. Yes, there was a problem involving the bankruptcy of the company that owned the film, but that wasn’t the only reason why it wasn’t picked up theatrically at some time or another. The film itself has some real problems.

First, it has some audio problems, with both the clarity and the volume variations, but that wasn’t the Big Chestnut. More entertainingly, let’s have film cliché class. Test your own knowledge:

1. Ray Liotta plays

a. A priest committed to working with the urban poor.

b. A weaseling small time mobster

c. A wacky Miami comic

d. A sensitive, loving husband

2. Shakespeare plays

a. A romantic, love-smitten fool, making love eyes throughout the film, and hopelessly in love with Liotta’s wife

b. A hard-boiled detective with cold, ironic eyes who has been hired by Liotta to find a missing person

c. A charismatic adventurer hoping to have Liotta bank his expedition

d. A Royal Canadian Mountie pursuing Liotta for Canadian crimes.

3. When Liotta finds out that Shakespeare is making nice-nice with his wife, he:

a. says, “let her decide which of us she loves”

b. gets drunk and remorseful for making all the mistakes which drove his wife into another’s arms.

c. talks to him calmly and says that the three of them need to figure out an adult solution

d. whacks him

4. When Shakespeare gets shot in the face and buried alive, he

a. goes to hell

b. goes to heaven

c. remains a fond memory in her heart always

d. miraculously claws his way free and makes it to a friend’s house

5. Shakespeare then

a. knows all is lost, goes back to his job as a cabana boy

b. remembers her all his life

c. resolves to find another woman, preferably one unattached, but if attached, not attached to a mobster.

d. joins with his friend in the drug business, and becomes a far bigger mobster than Liotta

6. When Liotta later gets in trouble with the law, Shakespeare

a. helps him out, on the condition that he leave his wife

b. whacks him

c. whacks him and the wife

d. ignores him and the wife

7. When Liotta figures out that the drug lord and the cabana boy are both Shakespeare, and that his wife still loves the guy, he

a. asks him to compose a love sonnet for his wife

b. says he is sorry about the past

c. whacks him again

d. bows out gracefully, makes his best deal, and moves on

8. When Shakespeare gets shot in the neck and thigh, and appears to be whacked a second time, he

a. goes to hell

b. goes to heaven

c. remains a fond memory in her heart always

d. miraculously musters up enough strength to save the wife from Liotta’s grasp, and to kill Liotta

So there you have it. Their love endures despite the fact that they didn’t see each other for 14 years, and the even more important fact that Shakespeare died twice. I guess I wouldn’t have minded all the unrealistic clichés so much, but the story also moves with a very slow pace, which makes it difficult to watch, and the film has some sound problems.

Despite all that, I recommend it, and I personally would pay to see it on a big screen.

Why? Here’s my logic

First of all, Gretchen Mol gets naked three times, the first two times in good light. The movie doesn’t seem so bad at all when viewed in that context.

And one more important thing: Cinematographer John Bailey did a magnificent, Oscar-worthy job on this film! It looks great. The first half takes place in Miami in 1973. I lived in Miami in the early 70’s, and this film caught the feel of it so beautifully that I could smell the Cafe Cubano, hear the Jai-Alai cheers, and feel the sea breezes. The pastels, the faded glory of the hotels, the neon lights, the whole palette.

Sometimes it is important to give credit where credit is due. Cinematographers often have to sit back and watch their best work ignored because the script just isn’t much good. A perfect example is The Patriot, from a couple of years back. That movie is photographed about as well as a movie can be, and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel was recognized by his fellow cinematographers as the king of the hill that year in their association awards. The Oscar, however, went to another film. Has there ever been a case where the Oscars overlooked a crap script and gave the cinematographer his just due? I suppose not. I can’t think of one, but that would happen in a fairer world. After all, it wasn’t Caleb’s fault that the Patriot’s script wasn’t that good.

And John Bailey can’t be blamed for Forever Mine’s script.

For Bailey, the results were far more depressing than for Deschanel, because nobody ever saw Bailey’s work projected on the big screen after the film festivals. That’s really a shame. This film was meant to be projected in a 2.35 aspect ratio which simply can’t be appreciated anywhere except a big screen. Of course, Bailey didn’t know it would go straight-to-cable when he filmed it in that super widescreen ratio.

By the way, this work was no isolated fluke for Mr. Bailey, as you might guess. He has never won an Oscar, or even a nomination, but he’s shot some very fine films in his career. He probably should have been nominated for an Oscar for his work on The Big Chill, and he shot some terrific offbeat stuff, like Cat People and Groundhog Day.

So, a strong “well done” for Mr Bailey, for work that few people will ever see.