Directed by John Michael McDonagh
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Ismael Kanater, Matt Smith

If laws were followed, David Henninger wouldn’t need to be forgiven. In the first five minutes of The Forgiven, David has a couple drinks, gets behind the wheel and proceeds to get lost in the desert at night. Every single event thereafter can be traced back to this initial transgression and it goes to show you, life is often better without the hassle. Alas, good movies don’t always fit inside the confines of the law.

During this film you’ll find yourself puzzled by absurd decisions often, be it the lax nature of allowing your party guest to drive off with strangers towards a village nobody’s heard of, or a stunning high school prank involving faulty parachutes. Despite this, I found myself getting increasingly invested in the story as The Forgiven reinvents characters at such a blistering pace that I barely noticed its runtime creep up towards two hours. The diverse variety of characters which are accentuated through the cultural collision of a soiree party in the North African desert each fundamentally change by the credits.

A soiree in the desert undeniably creates a good excuse for a combination of beautiful, natural and unnatural landscapes, this time basking in the afterglow of grainy golden sand. Indirectly however, racism shines bright as first world riches are waited on by garbed locals. The films best performances are found in the stunning juxtaposition between Abdellah, the father of a young man killed during that drink drive episode I mentioned earlier, and David during its titular road trip to the village for a dignified burial. Getting back to those landscapes I love so much; Africa is put on display as Jo Henninger stays behind to that awesome mansion party. As the dual narrative between David’s repentance and Jo partying her way to hell, the cuts between these characters could be repurposed as an exemplary tourist advert. Do you like oasis’, fireworks, horseback rides, and off-roading? Then boy, do we have a place for you!

Although if you plan on drink driving upon arrival, like I mean immediately upon arrival, then I’ll warn you that the path back home isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, you are most likely to have a terrible time resulting in your debatable abduction. This doesn’t need to be you but based on the kind of guy David is it was inevitable that it was going to be him. His guarded demeanour is teased by the film after he finally arrives at the party, and nobody can get a trustworthy answer on how his joyride ended. But as the walls around him erode, the sins of the past paint a selfish, drunken man who’s lost his way. After distancing himself from the hooch and worldly possessions, a renewed innocence is presented through his curiosity amongst foreign settings which almost elevated the depression basking in this rather sad story.

The Forgiven is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from July 28th.

Moviedoc thanks Madman for the invite to the screening of this film.

Reviewed by Zak Wheeler for Moviedoc

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