The Forgiven (2021 film)

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The Forgiven
Directed byJohn Michael McDonagh
Screenplay byJohn Michael McDonagh
Based onThe Forgiven
by Lawrence Osborne
Produced by
Starring
Music byLorne Balfe
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 11 September 2021 (2021-09-11) (TIFF)
Running time
117 minutes [2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

The Forgiven is a 2021 film written and directed by John Michael McDonagh and based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Caleb Landry Jones, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Matt Smith. Elizabeth Eves and McDonagh produced through their House of Un-American Activities Productions.[3][4][1] It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021.

Plot[]

The Forgiven takes place over a weekend in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the locals and western visitors to a house party in a grand villa.

Cast[]

Production[]

The film was announced to be written and directed by John Michael McDonagh in May 2018, with Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Mark Strong and Saïd Taghmaoui set to star. Filming was intended to begin in early 2019 in Morocco.[3] Caleb Landry Jones was cast in January 2019.[5] In December, Jessica Chastain entered negotiations to join the cast, with filming now set to begin in early 2020.[4] Marie-Josée Croze later joined the cast of the film.[6] In October 2020, it was reported that Matt Smith, Christopher Abbott, Ismael Kanater, Alex Jennings, and Abbey Lee had joined the cast of the film, with Focus Features priginally distributing worldwide, directly in the US and through Universal Pictures elsewhere.[1]

Principal photography began in February 2020.[7] In March 2020, production on the film was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] In September 2020, the shoot resumed in Morocco after a six-month pause and has now completed production.[4][1]

Release[]

The Forgiven had its World Premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2021.[9] In November 2021, it was announced that Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment acquired North American theatrical and video distribution rights to the film respectively, with Focus Features distributing in the rest of the world through Universal Pictures and Film4 retaining UK television rights.[1][10]

Reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an overall approval rating of 80% with an average score of 6.50/10 based on 15 reviews.[11] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 67 based on 10 reviews indicating 'Generally favorable reviews'[12]

Peter Debruge from Variety said the film was “Undeniably wicked yet deliciously prickly... McDonagh loves his monsters”[13] John Defore from Hollywood Reporter praised the film as "Scripted, directed and acted with intelligence and panache.���[14] Pete Hammond from Deadline also praised the film as “A rare and thoroughly adult drama offering much to think about.”[15] Steve Pond of The Wrap concluded "There's a lot of despicable stuff going on in this efficiently nasty drama from the Irish writer-director of The Guard and Calvary, but in the hands of McDonagh, Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain, you may actually find yourself caring for these people more than they care for themselves."[16] Pete Howell from The Toronto Star wrote "A crack ensemble cast — including Matt Smith, Caleb Landry Jones and Canada's Marie-Josée Croze — and a wickedly smart screenplay amplify moral issues that gnaw at the mind."[17] Chris Bumbray from Joblo.com gave the film a 9 and predicted "The Forgiven will likely open John Michael McDonagh up to a larger audience than he's gotten so far, thanks to the dynamic star turns by Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain. Thematically, it's right in line with some of his other, under-seen gems, such as The Guard, Calvary, and most recently, War on Everyone."[18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiseman, Andreas (14 October 2020). "'The Forgiven': Focus Features, Matt Smith, Christopher Abbott, More, Join Ralph Fiennes & Jessica Chastain Pic; First Look Images For Film Now Wrapped After COVID Delay". Deadline. Retrieved 14 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "The Forgiven". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (5 May 2018). "Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Mark Strong & Saïd Taghmaoui To Join John Michael McDonagh's 'The Forgiven' – Hot Cannes Pic". Deadline. Retrieved 14 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c Keslassy, Elsa (4 December 2019). "Jessica Chastain in Talks to Join Ralph Fiennes in 'The Forgiven' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Kroll, Justin (15 January 2019). "Caleb Landry Jones Joins Ralph Fiennes in 'The Forgiven' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Mirage (France 2) Marie-Josée Croze : "Un thriller, c'est sympa à tourner"". Programme Television. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Good luck to client and recent @ItaliaContiUK graduate, Briana Belle @Briana_belle_s who flies to Morocco today to commence filming for a new Feature film starring Jessica Chastain, Ralph Fiennes, Caleb Landry Jones, have the best time Briana, we are very proud of you!#actorslife". Twitter. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  8. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (16 March 2020). "'The Forgiven' starring Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain halts production in Morocco". Screen International. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  9. ^ Davis, Edward (13 August 2021). "TIFF 2021 Adds John Michael McDonagh's 'The Forgiven' With Jessica Chastain". The Playlist.
  10. ^ Grobar, Matt; Wiseman, Andreas (11 November 2021). "Roadside Attractions And Vertical Entertainment Acquire John Michael McDonagh Film 'The Forgiven' Starring Jessica Chastain & Ralph Fiennes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  11. ^ "The Forgiven (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  12. ^ "The Forgiven Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  13. ^ Debruge, Peter (11 September 2021). "'The Forgiven' Review: Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain Face Their Demons in the Desert". Variety.
  14. ^ Defore, John (11 September 2021). "Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain in 'The Forgiven': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ Hammond, Pete (11 September 2021). "'The Forgiven' Toronto Film Festival Review: Ralph Fiennes And Jessica Chastain In Searing Adult Drama Set In Moroccan Desert". Deadline.
  16. ^ Pond, Steve (11 September 2021). "'The Forgiven' Film Review: Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain Find Humanity in Some Nasty People". The Wrap.
  17. ^ Howell, Pete (11 September 2021). "Here are our movie critic's hits and misses halfway through TIFF". Toronto Star.
  18. ^ Bumbray, Chris (11 September 2021). "The Forgiven Review (TIFF 2021)". Joblo.com.

External links[]

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