The Forgiven
Directed by John Michael McDonagh
Written by John Michael McDonagh
Starring Jessica Chastain, Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith, Caleb Landry Jones, Christopher Abbott
Release Date July 1st, 2022
The Forgiven was made as a combination of the rich people ennui of The Great Gatsby and a moralist critique of the shiftless 1% wasting away on their vast fortunes while callously victimizing the disenfranchised. The film comes up short on both accounts. Written and Directed by John Michael McDonaugh, The Forgiven is sweaty, tired and unfocused outside a few genuinely emotional moments involving a grieving father and the man who killed his son.
The Forgiven stars Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain as a deeply bored and drifting apart married couple. He’s a doctor and she’s a children’s book author. As a couple they have plenty of money but very little joy. As we meet David and Jo Henninger they are traveling through Morocco and on their way to a distant location in the African desert. There, a long time friend of the couple, Richard (Matt Smith) and his partner Dally (Caleb Landry Jones), are throwing an old school bacchanal of rich people excess.
Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here.
