The Forgiven

An out of touch and dislikeable group of misfits, also rans and holier-than-thous, gather in a remote part of Morocco to celebrate and carouse, where an unfortunate accident ends with distress, and the source of the sorrow, must seek forgiveness.

Fundamentally, a film about the disregard, disrespect and contempt we have for cultures alien to our own, as well as to those closer to home, including friends and those more dear.

Whether you dislike the story and/or the characters, the acting and presentation is top drawer.

Richard Galloway (Matt Smith) and his gay partner Dally Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones) have created a private resort in the Moroccan desert. Hard-drinking surgeon David Henninger (Ralph Fiennes) and his wife Jo (Jessica Chastain) are two of their guests. In the dark of night, David gets lost driving to the resort. He hits and kills a local boy.

This reminds me of the TV show, The White Lotus. The guests are entitled and selfish. They make many assumptions about the locals. The locals have their own prejudices. It's a clash of cultures and classes. It raises uncomfortable questions about people. Unlike White Lotus, this does not use as much ironic humor and has the intensity raised up especially in David's journey. I could do with less Jo. Once David is headed out into the desert, the resort life holds much less importance.

Whilst The Forgiven definitely feels its length it's still a really good drama that skillfully critiques many of the worst tendencies of the upper class whilst wisely humanising those who are often depicted as stereotypes.

Ralph Fiennes gives a great lead performance that's unafraid to be unlikable and buoyed by his solid chemistry with Saïd Taghmaoui, whose one of the most human, earnest and likeable characters in the whole film. Ismael Kanater is also great, equally human and full of heartbreaking pain and anguish.

John Michael McDonagh's direction is really good, prioritising nice framing and some clever transitions over mobility. The old Hollywood style credits are a nice touch too. The music by Lorne Balfe is really evocative and memorable if a little overused.

Thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The writer takes two extremes of western and arab culture - represented here by a group of hedonist aristocrats and a desert tribe - and uses an incident that brings them together to examine how they interact. The core of the story is the interaction between dignity and honour culture, and we see how good men can be swayed to both good and bad acts by the influence of their respective value systems. The film neither patronises the viewer nor indulges in self-regard. The dialogue snaps along and the cast deliver authentic performances - there are no phone-ins here.

I'm a huge Ralph Fiennes fan and he didn't disappoint- he was the highlight of this unusual movie of clashing cultures and relationships. Matt White was suave and Jessica can be charming, but most of the other characters were stereotypical cardboard cutouts. The last half of the movie was the best by far. I'm still chewing on what I've just seen, unsure if I really enjoyed it or am a little disappointed. It's worth the highlights in my opinion, but I definitely think there were some missed opportunities to make this a deeper, more meaningful film.

It's not a very long movie so might as well try it.