Fans of John Michael McDonagh should find much to love in the writer/director’s fourth feature, The Forgiven, but it lacks the refined structure, likeable characters and charred heart of his earlier work.
Based on a novel by Lawrence Osborne, The Forgiven tells the tale of stuck-up, married couple, David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo (Jessica Chastain), who travel to Morocco to attend a lavish party thrown by wealthy friends, Richard (Matt Smith) and Dally (Caleb Landry Jones). En route, David accidentally runs over a teenage boy, Driss (Omar Ghazaoui), and is forced to face repercussions of the event while partying with pals. The police are convinced it was an accident but when the late boy’s father, Abdellah (Ismael Kanetar) arrives, David is forced to accompany him to help bury his son and face further consequences.
McDonagh’s latest is, for the most part, engrossing with striking performances from its A-list cast,...
Based on a novel by Lawrence Osborne, The Forgiven tells the tale of stuck-up, married couple, David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo (Jessica Chastain), who travel to Morocco to attend a lavish party thrown by wealthy friends, Richard (Matt Smith) and Dally (Caleb Landry Jones). En route, David accidentally runs over a teenage boy, Driss (Omar Ghazaoui), and is forced to face repercussions of the event while partying with pals. The police are convinced it was an accident but when the late boy’s father, Abdellah (Ismael Kanetar) arrives, David is forced to accompany him to help bury his son and face further consequences.
McDonagh’s latest is, for the most part, engrossing with striking performances from its A-list cast,...
- 9/2/2022
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Dir: John Michael McDonagh. Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Ismael Kanater, Caleb Landry Jones, Abbey Lee. 18, 117 minutes.
At what point does art’s stubborn (though not invalid) fascination with the inner mechanics of terrible people cross a line, and begin demanding we show mercy towards the truly irredeemable among us? It’s the problem that lies at the heart of The Forgiven, a somewhat on-the-nose title for a film that lines up for us a miniature troupe of the wealthy and perversely bigoted at leisure in Morocco, who feel free to say horrific things about the local population because they’re shielded behind the walls of a literal castle. The only Moroccans they speak to on a daily basis are the ones whose wages they pay. We watch these one-percenters scurry about like termites, spewing their awfulness, before one of their number undergoes a moral awakening and we...
At what point does art’s stubborn (though not invalid) fascination with the inner mechanics of terrible people cross a line, and begin demanding we show mercy towards the truly irredeemable among us? It’s the problem that lies at the heart of The Forgiven, a somewhat on-the-nose title for a film that lines up for us a miniature troupe of the wealthy and perversely bigoted at leisure in Morocco, who feel free to say horrific things about the local population because they’re shielded behind the walls of a literal castle. The only Moroccans they speak to on a daily basis are the ones whose wages they pay. We watch these one-percenters scurry about like termites, spewing their awfulness, before one of their number undergoes a moral awakening and we...
- 9/1/2022
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes in The Forgiven. Photo credit: Sife Elamine. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment
Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes star as a wealthy couple who travel to Morocco for a posh weekend party at a remote desert location but when driving to their destination, they hit a local teen-aged boy in a fatal accident, with unforeseen and devastating consequences, in The Forgiven.
White privilege, particularly of the variety afforded the rich, is at the center of this thoughtful, thriller-like drama, as it explores the clash of cultures between these affluent Brits and the boy’s impoverished Bedouin family, as well as the toll it takes on the couple’s already rocky marriage.
We first meet the wealthy couple on a luxury speed boat streaking towards the Moroccan coast. David Henninger is a successful British plastic surgeon and Jo Henninger is his American wife, who was...
Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes star as a wealthy couple who travel to Morocco for a posh weekend party at a remote desert location but when driving to their destination, they hit a local teen-aged boy in a fatal accident, with unforeseen and devastating consequences, in The Forgiven.
White privilege, particularly of the variety afforded the rich, is at the center of this thoughtful, thriller-like drama, as it explores the clash of cultures between these affluent Brits and the boy’s impoverished Bedouin family, as well as the toll it takes on the couple’s already rocky marriage.
We first meet the wealthy couple on a luxury speed boat streaking towards the Moroccan coast. David Henninger is a successful British plastic surgeon and Jo Henninger is his American wife, who was...
- 7/15/2022
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Watching the intriguing and unpredictable adult drama The Forgiven, which takes place right in the heart of the High Atlas mountains in Morocco, I couldn’t help but think that if the 2012 book on which it is based were around a few decades earlier this would be the kind of movie Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor would have made. It is actually a film dependent on a strong star pairing, and Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain certainly fill the bill as a somewhat bored married couple invited to spend the weekend at the isolated villa of a gay friend in the middle of the desert.
Based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne it is a story that pits the haves and the have nots, Westerners with money to spare versus local Muslims with nothing but miles of sand to traverse. On the one hand The Forgiven, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh and world premiering today at the Toronto Film Festival and with a title that even sounds like a movie Taylor and Burton might have made in the ’60s, is about that clash which happens solely due to a tragic accident that brings these disparate groups unexpectedly together. On the other hand it is about people from distinct and different backgrounds who deal with their own humanity in ways that couldn’t be more miles apart. It is a clash of cultures that serves on a very small level as something of a view for the world at large, one ultimately asking for universal understanding.
David Henninger (Fiennes) and his wife Jo (Chastain), a children’s author, are driving to spend the weekend at the elaborate and remote Moroccan villa (Willem Smit’s production design is aces) of their friend Richard (Matt Smith) and his gay lover Dalley Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones). Other kitschy guests will also be partying with no abandon there for the housewarming party of this renovated ksour in the middle of nowhere. Before they can arrive, David, not a terribly friendly man and a functioning alcoholic, gets drunk and winds up carelessly running over a young local man named Driss (Omar Ghazaoui), killing him. Not knowing what to do he takes the body to the house. Although a tragedy, this incident does not seem to dampen the mood, and is ruled an accident by authorities, perhaps favoring those with wealth vs those more expendable?
As the guests, a bourgeoisie bunch if ever there was one, go about their merry games, we get an ugly view of privileged western society where, despite outward appearances, they all seem to be dead behind the eyes if you ask me. There is also attractive American Tom Day (Christopher Abbott), party girl Cody (Abbey Lee), photographer Isabelle Peret (Marie-Josee Croze) and more drifting in and out of frame. The focus is primarily on David and Jo, he a lost cause and she potentially a decent person, if overdressed in evening gowns for the occasion, caught up in a dying marriage.
Things heat up considerably when Abdellah (an excellent Ismael Kanater), the father of the dead boy, arrives to identify the body. In a rare moment of remorse over causing this loss of a young man’s life, accident or not, David somewhat reluctantly agrees to accompany Abdellah and his group to the outer desert in order to bury the boy. Is this his version of atonement? It certainly adds a unique layer of tension to the story as he sets off in the car with this Muslim father of the boy he killed. Their interactions on the journey are the strongest part of the film.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…Jo opens up and shows emotional vulnerability as she falls into bed with Tom, ratcheting up the stakes when David returns, if he returns. We don’t really know how this will play out, and that is what kept me engaged right up to the very last moment.
In a directorial flourish I have never quite seen before, every single credit, including all the music cues and crew members, roll by at the beginning of the movie. McDonagh clearly has his reasons for that but it is disconcerting to say the least. I actually thought the link I got to watch the gorgeously shot movie (cinematography is by Larry Smith) was somehow unspooling backwards. I almost called the support line. Ultimately what McDonagh has wrought is a look into ourselves no matter what class we are in, and he clearly wants it to end with no ambiguity on that matter. Fiennes as a thoroughly unlikable man manages through his exceptional acting talent to show us how David may have a decent human buried deep inside. Chastain, who received the Actor award at TIFF today, is having quite a festival with The Eyes of Tammy Faye also premiering here this weekend on top of the HBO debut Sunday of her limited series Scenes From a Marriage. She brings extra dimension to a basically good woman who is trying to find any spark of life left in her. Smith, best known for The Crown, is perfectly cast as Richard, while Jones’ character is a little too weird to ever let the actor take it out of first gear. Best of all is perhaps is driver Anouar, as played by Said Taghmaoui, with genuine wisdom and smarts well above his pay grade. This is a rare and thoroughly adult drama offering much to think about.
Elizabeth Eves, Trevor Mathhews and Nick Gordon are producers. The production companies listed are House of Un-American Activities and Brookstreet Pictures. The print I saw was fronted by the Focus Features logo, but the title is being sold at TIFF. CAA is the sales agent.
Based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne it is a story that pits the haves and the have nots, Westerners with money to spare versus local Muslims with nothing but miles of sand to traverse. On the one hand The Forgiven, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh and world premiering today at the Toronto Film Festival and with a title that even sounds like a movie Taylor and Burton might have made in the ’60s, is about that clash which happens solely due to a tragic accident that brings these disparate groups unexpectedly together. On the other hand it is about people from distinct and different backgrounds who deal with their own humanity in ways that couldn’t be more miles apart. It is a clash of cultures that serves on a very small level as something of a view for the world at large, one ultimately asking for universal understanding.
David Henninger (Fiennes) and his wife Jo (Chastain), a children’s author, are driving to spend the weekend at the elaborate and remote Moroccan villa (Willem Smit’s production design is aces) of their friend Richard (Matt Smith) and his gay lover Dalley Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones). Other kitschy guests will also be partying with no abandon there for the housewarming party of this renovated ksour in the middle of nowhere. Before they can arrive, David, not a terribly friendly man and a functioning alcoholic, gets drunk and winds up carelessly running over a young local man named Driss (Omar Ghazaoui), killing him. Not knowing what to do he takes the body to the house. Although a tragedy, this incident does not seem to dampen the mood, and is ruled an accident by authorities, perhaps favoring those with wealth vs those more expendable?
As the guests, a bourgeoisie bunch if ever there was one, go about their merry games, we get an ugly view of privileged western society where, despite outward appearances, they all seem to be dead behind the eyes if you ask me. There is also attractive American Tom Day (Christopher Abbott), party girl Cody (Abbey Lee), photographer Isabelle Peret (Marie-Josee Croze) and more drifting in and out of frame. The focus is primarily on David and Jo, he a lost cause and she potentially a decent person, if overdressed in evening gowns for the occasion, caught up in a dying marriage.
Things heat up considerably when Abdellah (an excellent Ismael Kanater), the father of the dead boy, arrives to identify the body. In a rare moment of remorse over causing this loss of a young man’s life, accident or not, David somewhat reluctantly agrees to accompany Abdellah and his group to the outer desert in order to bury the boy. Is this his version of atonement? It certainly adds a unique layer of tension to the story as he sets off in the car with this Muslim father of the boy he killed. Their interactions on the journey are the strongest part of the film.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…Jo opens up and shows emotional vulnerability as she falls into bed with Tom, ratcheting up the stakes when David returns, if he returns. We don’t really know how this will play out, and that is what kept me engaged right up to the very last moment.
In a directorial flourish I have never quite seen before, every single credit, including all the music cues and crew members, roll by at the beginning of the movie. McDonagh clearly has his reasons for that but it is disconcerting to say the least. I actually thought the link I got to watch the gorgeously shot movie (cinematography is by Larry Smith) was somehow unspooling backwards. I almost called the support line. Ultimately what McDonagh has wrought is a look into ourselves no matter what class we are in, and he clearly wants it to end with no ambiguity on that matter. Fiennes as a thoroughly unlikable man manages through his exceptional acting talent to show us how David may have a decent human buried deep inside. Chastain, who received the Actor award at TIFF today, is having quite a festival with The Eyes of Tammy Faye also premiering here this weekend on top of the HBO debut Sunday of her limited series Scenes From a Marriage. She brings extra dimension to a basically good woman who is trying to find any spark of life left in her. Smith, best known for The Crown, is perfectly cast as Richard, while Jones’ character is a little too weird to ever let the actor take it out of first gear. Best of all is perhaps is driver Anouar, as played by Said Taghmaoui, with genuine wisdom and smarts well above his pay grade. This is a rare and thoroughly adult drama offering much to think about.
Elizabeth Eves, Trevor Mathhews and Nick Gordon are producers. The production companies listed are House of Un-American Activities and Brookstreet Pictures. The print I saw was fronted by the Focus Features logo, but the title is being sold at TIFF. CAA is the sales agent.
- 9/11/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
NBC is ending its Odyssey. The Peacock has cancelled freshman drama American Odyssey after one 13-episode season American Odyssey starred Anna Friel as Odelle Ballard, Peter Facinelli as Peter Decker, Jake Robinson as Harrison Walters, Omar Ghazaoui as Aslam, Nate Mooney as Bob Offer, and Daniella Pineda as Ruby Simms. The series premiered back on April 5 (aka Easter Sunday) to 5.4 million viewers and a 1.2 demo rating but soon saw its numbers take a dive, as it earned less than half of its demo rating, only garnering a 0.4, in six out of its final eight installments. The show aired its Season 1 (and now series) finale on Sunday night, which featured Odelle making the difficult decision to share her story, holding nothing back about the many secretive and damaging details. With the way the episode ended, there certainly could have been more stories to tell in a second…
NBC Cancels American Odyssey...
NBC Cancels American Odyssey...
- 7/1/2015
- by Chris King
- TVovermind.com
Network: NBC
Episodes: 13 (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: April 5, 2015 -- June 28, 2015
Series status: Cancelled
Performers include: Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
TV show description:
This action drama series is a journey through global politics, corporate espionage, and military secrets. It revolves around three strangers who have one thing in common -- the truth. An international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide.
After a team of American soldiers battles jihadists in North Africa, they're shocked to learn that they've stumbled upon and killed Al Qaeda's top commander. Sergeant Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel) -- a...
Episodes: 13 (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: April 5, 2015 -- June 28, 2015
Series status: Cancelled
Performers include: Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
TV show description:
This action drama series is a journey through global politics, corporate espionage, and military secrets. It revolves around three strangers who have one thing in common -- the truth. An international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide.
After a team of American soldiers battles jihadists in North Africa, they're shocked to learn that they've stumbled upon and killed Al Qaeda's top commander. Sergeant Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel) -- a...
- 7/1/2015
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
There won't be a second season of American Odyssey. To little surprise, NBC has cancelled the dramatic TV series after 13 episodes.
On the American Odyssey TV show, an international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide. The cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
Read More…...
On the American Odyssey TV show, an international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide. The cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
Read More…...
- 7/1/2015
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
It's been quite awhile since NBC had a successful drama on Sunday nights. Will American Odyssey change that and become a hit in the ratings? Cancelled or renewed for a second season? Stay tuned.
On the American Odyssey TV show, an international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide. The cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
Read More…...
On the American Odyssey TV show, an international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide. The cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
Read More…...
- 6/1/2015
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Stranger danger!…?
This Sunday on American Odyssey (NBC, 10/9c), Smallville favorite Allison Mack begins an arc as Julia, an intelligent and empathetic woman who strikes up a convo with Sgt. Odelle Ballard’s daughter Suzanne — and TVLine has a first look at their bonding over Harry Potter and such.
RelatedRenewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Cancelled?
To date, young Suzanne (played by Sadie Sink) can only suspect that her mother is somehow still alive, despite what grownup after grownup has told her. (Helping fuel the lass’ theory is the fact that the wedding ring belonging to her “dead” mom,...
This Sunday on American Odyssey (NBC, 10/9c), Smallville favorite Allison Mack begins an arc as Julia, an intelligent and empathetic woman who strikes up a convo with Sgt. Odelle Ballard’s daughter Suzanne — and TVLine has a first look at their bonding over Harry Potter and such.
RelatedRenewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Cancelled?
To date, young Suzanne (played by Sadie Sink) can only suspect that her mother is somehow still alive, despite what grownup after grownup has told her. (Helping fuel the lass’ theory is the fact that the wedding ring belonging to her “dead” mom,...
- 5/21/2015
- TVLine.com
It's pretty rare that a TV show that's launched very late in the season becomes a success in the ratings. Could American Odyssey on NBC be an exception? Will it be cancelled or renewed for a second season instead?
On the American Odyssey TV show, an international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide. The cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
The series debuted on April 4th to a 1.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.37 million total viewers. That was a very poor premiere but the ratings got much worse in week two, dropping more than 24%, to a 0.81 rating in the demo and 4.05...
On the American Odyssey TV show, an international cover-up explodes when the lives of a female Special Forces soldier, a disillusioned corporate lawyer, and a political activist from a privileged family unexpectedly collide. The cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazaoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams.
The series debuted on April 4th to a 1.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.37 million total viewers. That was a very poor premiere but the ratings got much worse in week two, dropping more than 24%, to a 0.81 rating in the demo and 4.05...
- 5/4/2015
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Much as the horror genre is deeply rooted in the evolving culture that creates it, NBC‘s latest “action-drama,” American Odyssey, builds itself from the conspiracy fears that are now equally laughed off and assumed to be obviously true.
Sgt. Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel, “Pushing Daisies”) is part of a group that stumbles upon an Al Qaeda’s top commander, but she quickly discovers intel that suggests an American corporation is funding the group. A private military company comes to clean up, and Odelle’s company is killed to cover things up. She escapes, but now she’s on the run, and a long way from home, and doesn’t have anyone she can trust.
Meanwhile, back at home, former U.S. Attorney Peter Decker (Peter Facinelli) is in the middle of a merger with the same company that apparently funded the jihadists, and he starts to put the pieces...
Sgt. Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel, “Pushing Daisies”) is part of a group that stumbles upon an Al Qaeda’s top commander, but she quickly discovers intel that suggests an American corporation is funding the group. A private military company comes to clean up, and Odelle’s company is killed to cover things up. She escapes, but now she’s on the run, and a long way from home, and doesn’t have anyone she can trust.
Meanwhile, back at home, former U.S. Attorney Peter Decker (Peter Facinelli) is in the middle of a merger with the same company that apparently funded the jihadists, and he starts to put the pieces...
- 4/2/2015
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.