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Some people love to travel the world, exploring new places and experiencing different cultures. Others exploit other cultures for their own entertainment. And in The Forgiven, a trip to an exotic locale, an extravagant party, and a tragic accident late at night put a wealthy foreigner in a precarious position.
The Forgiven travels into the Sahara Desert with David and Jo Henninger (Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain), who have been invited to a wild weekend party at a remote castle owned by their friend, Richard (Matt Smith), and his partner, Dally (Caleb Landry Jones). The couple gets lost while traveling through the desert at night, and they end up hitting and killing a young fossil seller with the car. When the boy’s father comes to bring his son home, he insists that David join him on the journey, leaving Jo behind to join the other guests as they continue on with their weekend party.
Reluctantly, David joins the grieving father (Ismael Kanater) on a journey that seems unlikely to end well. He travels alone with these strangers, just wanting to get it over with, but with each new scene, the suspense of what will happen to him grows. Here is where the real story builds, while, back at the castle, the party rages on—a completely different world from the one David experiences.
The problem, however, is that none of these foreign characters who arrive at the party are remotely likable. They’re entitled and prejudiced and superior, loudly mocking the locals in front of the staff and flaunting their wealth and position, confident that none of them will be held accountable for their actions. Their greatest concern about the boy’s death is the inconvenience it causes and the momentary damper it puts on their reveling. Really, Chastain’s Jo is the only slightly sympathetic character. She’s clearly unhappy in her marriage to her shamelessly alcoholic husband, and she seems truly upset by the boy’s death. But it doesn’t take long for her to settle right into the guests’ irresponsible behavior.
Somewhere in here, there’s a message about these different characters, their different cultures and traditions, and the way that they handle the death of this boy. But, in the end, these more thoughtful themes get lost in a whole lot of partying and prejudice.
Though the impressive cast seems to promise a gripping, thought-provoking film, the significance and drama of The Forgiven fades into the background, overshadowed by the shallowness of these reckless revelers.
The Forgiven arrives in theaters on July 1, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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