The Forgiven (18)

Richard Galloway and his partner Dally invite a coterie of privileged friends to their villa in the Moroccan desert for a weekend of lavish revelry and self-congratulation. British doctor David Henninger and his American writer wife Jo get lost en route from Tangier. They are immersed in an argument when young fossil seller Driss steps into the desert road in front of their speeding car to ply his wares. The Henningers arrive late at Richard's soiree, claiming the boy's death was an accident.

LondonNet Film Review

The Forgiven (18) Film Review from LondonNet

Bafta-nominated writer-director John Michael McDonagh has an enduring fascination with emotionally, morally and spiritually conflicted characters, who behave badly (sometimes abominably) in the name of self-fulfilment and -preservation. Punishments don’t necessarily fit the crime in McDonagh’s darkly comedic world and few of his protagonists seek forgiveness for their actions. Contrary to the title, adapted from Lawrence Osborne’s best-selling 2012 novel, The Forgiven doesn’t grant absolution to any of the vile bodies that congregate in the Moroccan desert in the aftermath of a fatal car accident that is covered up with the collusion of local police…

White privilege and western superiority trump justice and McDonagh invites us to seethe with disbelief when the driver of the vehicle ruefully suggests that the death of an Arab boy can be swatted from memory because, “the kid is a nobody.” He forgets that every nobody has blood ties to somebody. McDonagh doesn’t. Anchored by a formidable lead performance from Ralph Fiennes as an acid-tongued, high-functioning alcoholic, this slow-burning morality tale cranks up tension as grief collides head-on with guilt and a nervous quest for atonement seems destined to end in abject failure. Characters are unlikeable by design but it’s still possible to feel fleeting pangs of pity as McDonagh impales his loathsome creations on hooks and lets them wriggle.

Richard Galloway (Matt Smith) and his wine-guzzling partner Dally (Caleb Landry Jones) invite a coterie of odious, privileged friends to their villa in the Moroccan desert for a weekend of lavish revelry and self-congratulation. The guest list includes British aristocrat Lord Swanthorne (Alex Jennings), French journalist Isabelle Peret (Marie-Josee Croze) and American financial analyst Tom Day (Christopher Abbott). House staff led by Hamid (Mourad Zaoui) are horrified by wanton displays of hedonism, drugs-taking and sexual promiscuity.

British doctor David Henninger (Fiennes) and his American writer wife Jo (Jessica Chastain) get lost en route from Tangier. He blames her map navigational skills. “It’s Morocco not Milton Keynes!” she seethes. They are immersed in another argument when young fossil seller Driss (Omar Ghazaoui) steps into the desert road in front of their speeding car to ply his wares. The Henningers arrive late at Richard’s soiree, claiming the boy’s death was an accident. Driss’s father Abdellah (Ismael Kanater) materialises with an English-speaking associate (Said Taghmaoui) to claim his son’s body. The grieving patriarch insists David should witness the teenager’s burial and the pompous Brit reluctantly obliges.

Blessed with finely calibrated performances, The Forgiven is most compelling when Fiennes is on screen, marinating in his character’s discomfort. Pacing is glacial and every time McDonagh cuts away to the manifold transgressions within the villa, the two-hour running time seems to stretch, without the reward of an emotional pay-off.

– Sarah Lee