Remember Me

Story

On a New York subway station in 1991, 11-year-old Allissa Craig (Caitlin Rudd) witnesses her mother shot dead in front of her by two muggers. Ten years later, Ally (Emilie de Ravin) lives with her over-protective father, Neil (Chris Cooper), a New York police sergeant. Both have been scarred by the traumatic events of the past.

Ally is a student in a class with Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson), who is also a victim of tragic circumstances. Tyler’s older brother committed suicide on his 22nd birthday, following the break-up of his family. Tyler’s mother has a new partner. His father, Charles (Pierce Brosnan), is a successful lawyer and has disconnected from the family. Tyler shares a flat with roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington), and loves and takes care of his younger sister Caroline (Ruby Jerins). Caroline is a very gifted artist, but has poor social skills, which makes her a victim of bullying.

One evening, Tyler and Aidan get involved in a street fight. Neil arrests Tyler and beats him quite badly. To get even, Aidan dares Tyler to take Ally on a date. Things don’t go according to plan, however. Tyler is not a vengeful person and falls in love with Ally. Tyler and Ally find that they can understand and help each other to heal. While their relationship grows, Ally’s relationship with her father deteriorates. Ally moves in with Tyler.

Things fall apart when Tyler admits to Neil how it all began, and then confesses the dare to Ally. Meanwhile Tyler is trying to repair relationships with his own father. He is on the verge of doing so when tragic events lead to an unexpected ending.

Themes

Dysfunctional families; murder; suicide

Violence

This movie contains some violence. For example:

Ally and her mother are approached by two hoodlums, who threaten and intimidate them. They steal the mother’s handbag, and then shoot her dead.
Tyler and Aidan intervene in a street fight where hoodlums are attacking people with bats.
Neil Craig arrests and beats Tyler, leaving him with a bloodied, bruised face and blood all over his t-shirt.
Neil hits Ally with enough force to make her fall to the floor.
Tyler and his father have a very confronting verbal fight.
Ally slaps Tyler across the face.
Neil attacks Tyler and almost strangles him.
Caroline has her hair cut off at a party, which deeply upsets her.
Tyler intimidates one of his sister’s bullies, shoving her desk. He also smashes a fire hydrant through a window, scaring all the children and the teacher in the class.

Sexual references

This movie contains some crude sexual references.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

This movie contains some use of substances. For example:

Tyler smokes throughout the movie.
Characters drink a lot of alcohol in various places – at home, in pubs and restaurants, and so on.

Nudity and sexual activity

This movie contains some partial nudity and a couple of passionate sex scenes.

Product placement

None of concern

Coarse language

This movie contains some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Remember Me is a gritty romantic drama that involves stories on various levels. The characters are quite complex, well developed and well portrayed. Because of the movie’s content, it is more suited to an adult audience, despite the presence of teenage drawcard Robert Pattinson.

The main messages from this movie are the ability of the human spirit to overcome tragedy and the importance of treasuring every day of your life.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include understanding, empathy, love, forgiveness and the importance of family.

This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about how to deal with loss and grief, and how to cope with losing a family member to suicide or murder. It would also be an opportunity to discuss difficult parent–child relationships.