The Forger

I suppose, well, no, I know, that most of the reviews before mine are right about the many holes in the script, the flimsy dialog, the wrong casting for the main character (a twenty year old actor to represent a fifteen year old character) and several other flaws.

But I enjoyed the movie from beginning to end.

I just watched it as if it was a Walt Disney production, knowing that I couldn't expect more than what was offered and so, I wasn't as disappointed as the other reviewers that were waiting to see an Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's".

Well, sorry, There was only ONE Eric Rohmer, and he wasn't here. So, back to THIS movie: If you lower your expectations it isn't a bad movie to spend a couple of hours watching some very good actors practicing their trade in a gorgeous environment (Carmel) with some nice eye candy (Hayden Panettiere and Scott Eastwood) a very dignified Lauren Bacall and a born actor, Alfred Molina.

In contrast to all the other critics, what really bothered me as the weakest point of the script was the unpolished way to represent the forgery of an old painting (too long to go into specifics) but just one enormous flaw: Molina was an expert forger and surely he should have known that no matter how much you clean an old canvas to erase the original painting, traces of that painting will be seen when looking through the new layer of paint with special equipment.

Forget about all those weak points within the script and enjoy this movie as a very good piece of light entertainment.

I can understand scrapping the uninformative title CARMEL, and even the extended version CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, but the title THE FORGER fooled me. I expected a focus on the intricate labors of some fascinating criminals. I figured that if the movie is good enough to enlist Lauren Bacall and Alfred Molina, it's got to be good. In fact, though, not so much. The dialogue occasionally goes wooden with exposition or preachiness, Molina's accent isn't completely consistent, in places the characters' behavior isn't easily believable, and although a couple of interesting tricks of the trade are displayed, art forgery is made to look pretty easy, with first-time forgers capable of deceiving the experts. However, I'm criticizing the movie for not being what it wasn't shot to be. From the opening music, camera-work, and text font, you can easily tell that this is a movie meant to play on women's emotions. It's about an adorable homeless boy, an adorable well-groomed girl, an adorable old lady, and a series of misunderstandings that threaten to keep them apart, and as Spielberg has shown elsewhere, if plot offers a good dramatic structure it doesn't need to hang together logically.

Terrible B style movie. Premise is predictable and stupid. The 15 year old actor is antagonistic, inconsistent, and irritating. They did not give much thought to the introduction of Josh's character or the way he was introduced into the art world....in real life he probably would have been shot at the first house he broke into....if not that one, the second. Is this really more believable than if he was discovered working at McDonald's and living in a homeless shelter? At least that would have given his character some redeemable value. Yes....we need to be shown that he is young and naive (WAAAAY too naive for a kid who's been living on the street!). It would have been a much better movie if they modeled the kid more after "Catch me if you Can", rather than making him an *sshole/wimp.

At first sigh, a film for see only for actors. or for location. in fact, this is not the only motif. but the story. sure, simple, nice, full of flaws. but working. in nice manner. a film about choices. and, maybe, about art. about refuges. and about the way to define yourself and the others. not special. just beautiful. and that is enough for see it. for the not bad reflection of feelings, first.

"People need to figure out how to find their success." Joshua (Hutcherson) has been abandoned by his mother in a hotel room and is on his own. After finding an open house he sneaks in for food and a bed. He stumbles on a secret room with painting supplies and his real talent is discovered by the owner (Molina) in the morning. Giving Josh a choice to stay with him in return for helping him forge paintings Josh thinks he has found his calling. Then he meets Anne-Marie (Bacall) and everything changes. This overall is not a bad movie but just a little slow. Molina and Bacall are a great choice for these roles and really helps the movie have a more legitimate feel and takes it above made for TV status. For a movie about forging paintings I do have to say that this was a really tough subject to stay interested in. For the most part I was entertained but during quite a bit of it I found myself not really caring and losing interest. Then Molina or Bacall showed up and got me back again. It seems like I'm bashing the movie, which I'm not trying to do. This movie isn't terrible just a little slow moving and hard to stay focused on. Overall, not bad but has the feel of a made for TV movie. I give it a B-.