“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 local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party in a grand villa.”

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Writers:John Michael McDonagh, Lawrence Osborne
Staring: Abbey Lee, Matt Smith, Jessica Chastain, Ralph Fiennes
Release Date: September 2, 2022

The Forgiven follows a unhappily married couple as they are on their way to fancy party in a villa in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The partners run over a local Muslim, resulting in interactions between the visitors from the wealthy-West and local, often-seeking, native community. Things come head-to-head as the story evolves and the character traits of the married couple devolve.

Who is Abbey Lee? Because she is stunning. I have seen a few things she is in: The Dark Tower (2017), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and Lovecraft Country. I don’t remember anything about her roles, but she is beautiful. Phew.

Lee is not the only stunning performer in this movie. Jessica Chastain seems to be stepping back into Molly’s Game (2017) seduction territory with her role of Jo Henninger. Matt Smith is riding a hot streak with Last Night In Soho (2021), the HBO Game of Thrones spin-off House Of The Dragon and the Marvel appearance in Morbius (2022) (which I know wasn’t well received but it still counts for his clout). In The Forgiven he plays Richard Galloway, the host of the fancy ass party that Jo and David Henninger (Ralph Fiennes) are attending. Oh yea, Fiennes is in this, in case you needed more ample reason to watch.

This is the seventh movie that John Michael McDonagh has written and directed. I have only seen one of his movies, The Guard (2011), and I gave it a C+. I am going to be honest. I don’t remember much of anything from it except that I needed subtitles.

What’s most intriguing about the The Forgiven trailer is that there is a part of the story we do no know. David mentions in a voiceover part of the trailer that the locals they are having to interact and reconcile with may have more sinister motivations than they are letting on. The close-ups of axes and the sounds of them being sharpened adds to the mystique surrounding it.

The Forgiven makes its debut in September 2022.


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