Forgetting the Girl

Synopsis: Haunted by a traumatic history, photographer Kevin Wolfe (Christopher Denham) struggles to systematically forget all his bad memories, but erasing his past threatens to consume his future. Kevin is obsessed with finding a girl who can help him forget his unpleasant past. However, all his encounters with the opposite sex inevitably go afoul, creating more awkward experiences than he can cope with. As the rejections mount, Kevin's futile search for happiness and love becomes overwhelmingly turbulent, forcing him to take desperate measures. Shot in a variety of NYC locales, from Hell's Kitchen to Greenpoint, Forgetting the Girl is a gritty vision of the city and its denizens. The tightly-woven drama blends recollections with reality to craft an intense character study of the psychologically-scarred protagonist. As beautiful as it is dark, the tense narrative slowly boils under the surface until it unleashes an unsettling climax that will not be easily forgotten.
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Nate Taylor
Production: Film Movement
  2 wins & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
5.2
Metacritic:
55
Rotten Tomatoes:
71%
NOT RATED
Year:
2012
85 min
Website
30 Views


If you're watching this, you've

discovered something you shouldn't have.

Anyway, um...

This... This is a close-up

of a model's eye.

Yeah.

I can't remember her name to save my life,

but she had the bluest eyes

I've ever seen.

The only other time I remember seeing

this exact intensity of blue...

was the day my sister drowned.

It was everywhere.

It was in the water,

in the sky, Nicole's skin.

Blue.

I remember.

And gold.

The gold of the light

off the surface of the water.

Like an empty frame

flashing onto the screen.

Nicole.

She's the one girl

I keep trying to remember.

But I... I think

she's the problem.

I think she's the reason

I am the way I am, right?

Maybe I should back up and try to

explain what the hell happened here.

Jesus Christ. What the

hell did happen here?

Um...

Well, let's start with me.

My name is Kevin Wolfe.

I'm a studio photographer.

I do head shots,

and most of my clients are girls.

Girls.

They've sort of been the focus

of my whole f***ing life.

They're sort of

a problem for me.

I've just been trying to find a way

to forget all the bad experiences...

and try to have

at least one good one, so...

every girl that comes

into this studio...

every actress, every model...

I ask out.

Would you like to see a movie?

And they almost always say...

No.

And so, I do

this forgetting thing.

It's like a ritual.

I mean, I know it sounds weird,

but you gotta do something positive...

to cancel out the negative experiences,

right?

Um, for instance,

I forgot Theresa

by going to Coney Island.

And before Theresa

there was Carrie,

who decided to stand me up

at the movies.

Forgot her by watching every

single episode of Lost on DVD.

And then, uh...

Then there was Sheila.

She was a real girl, you know?

Not like most actresses...

not fake.

Although she does look

really overdone here.

My assistant Jamie,

she sometimes went

a little crazy with the makeup.

Anyway, I remember asking...

Are you single?

Um, I'm only 19.

Oh.

Um, do you have

a... a boyfriend?

Oh, no. No, I don't.

Maybe we could go

to a-a movie sometime?

Uh...

Sure.

Yeah. Uh, sure.

Um...

I... I like movies.

A lot of

girls have a hard time saying no,

especially if they're from Iowa

or some f***ing place.

It's like they're trying

to be polite all the time.

But, anyway, she called the day

we were supposed to go out...

and she said she'd forgotten

about other plans.

Some relative was in from out of town,

I think, or something, blah, blah, blah.

I forgot her

by going to the newsstand.

Flipping through

the fashion magazines,

the pictures of

the skinny supermodels,

the emaciated and beautiful.

And then, uh, there are the ones

who are not so easy to forget...

because they are the ones

who said...

Yes.

Okay.

This looks great.

Thanks.

It's a great smile.

Have you done a lot of acting?

I mean, theater or...

Um, a few years ago,

I went on some auditions.

And then I met this guy,

and... now I'm a hostess.

But I'm planning

on getting back into it.

How old are you?

How old am I?

Why do you want to know

how old I am?

Where'd you grow up?

Who said I ever grew up?

Oh.

Well, where'd you go to school?

You know, usually, how this works is that

I'm usually the one asking questions.

Oh.

What are you doing tonight?

What am I doing?

Do you want to go out

with me, Kevin?

Oh, like what?

Like a movie?

I was thinking more like a bar.

Okay.

Kevin.

I had a bad dream.

Oh, my God.

- Good morning.

- Are you taking pictures of me?

Taking one picture.

Here.

See? You look beautiful.

Not likely.

Yeah, you do.

Oh, God.

What time is it?

Oh, my God.

I don't want you to get

the wrong idea about me.

Get the wrong idea?

What wrong idea?

Um...

Yeah.

I mean, I can't believe that I, like...

Listen, I'm not, uh...

I'm not the type of person

that just wants to...

Uh, f***.

Listen, I know that... I know that I

really don't know you at all, Adrienne.

I can't even think of your

last name at the moment.

But... And it's safe to say

that you don't know me,

but...

I really feel

that we made this...

this connection.

Right?

Uh, a connection?

Yeah.

I mean, you're here, I'm here,

and I just feel like there's this...

there's a spark.

I mean, what I want,

really, is just...

I just want a girl, you know?

I mean, I'm just a guy. I mean,

I'm not, like, a fashion photographer.

It's nothing glamorous.

I just do head shots, you know...

300 a digital set,

prints are extra.

It's the deal I gave you, essentially.

Yeah.

Um, hey, listen.

Yesterday was, like,

a really, um, weird day for me.

So...

Mmm.

Yeah.

Okay.

Sh... Coffee?

Do you want coffee?

I could go down to the corner... No,

thanks.

No, thanks.

You have to go to work?

Work. Yeah, I do.

Work.

Can I, um... Can I

call you sometime?

Um, did I give you my number?

Oh. Wow.

Uh, yeah, you gave it

to Jamie on the card...

so that I could call you when the

pictures were ready. Oh! Right, right.

Awkward.

Okay.

Thanks!

F***. F***ing f***.

I am such a f***ing idiot.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

I can't believe how stupid I am.

No idea how to talk to people...

girls in particular.

Hi. I really think we had this connection,

right?

Hi! We have a connection.

I really think, uh...

Stupid. I'm so f***ing stupid.

I'm stupid.

I'm such a f***ing moron.

I'm such a f***ing dumb-ass piece of sh*t.

F***ing brain...

Hey.

Hi.

Do you wanna go camping?

Uh, Derek and me were...

Derek and I are going camping,

and we want you to go.

And I was thinking you could do

some of your nature photography.

You know, if you don't want to,

that is totally fine.

Please tell me

you're kidding, right?

Yeah. I was kidding.

You're kidding.

Yeah. I got you.

You got me.

I'm going to go set up now.

Okay.

Do you have

any pictures to show me?

Nah.

You never show me

your pictures.

They're just girls.

They're just...

head shots.

They're boring, Ruby.

They'd bore you.

Girls are nice.

You wouldn't like 'em.

Trust me, Ruby.

You wouldn't like any of 'em.

They're not dirty pictures,

are they?

Come on.

I've seen those magazines. I know what all

kinds of pictures they have out there.

They're not dirty.

You're taking dirty pictures!

You are crazy, Ruby.

You are a crazy old woman.

You shouldn't call me Ruby.

You should call me Grandma.

Ruby, can I see

the pictures of Nicole?

She wasn't supposed to be

called "Nicole," you know,

because that was

your mother's name.

I know.

But when she died,

we thought it was fitting.

Just a newborn baby,

and a little girl and all.

Such a pretty little baby.

It was fitting she should

have your mother's name.

Oh, your mother...

I guess it was just

one of those things.

They said they

couldn't have known.

And I thought I could console

myself with little Nicole.

You're all I've got left.

F***.

It's not that you're

a bad guy or anything.

I mean, you seem like

you're really nice.

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Peter Moore Smith

Peter Moore Smith (born 1965) is an American writer and was the recipient of the 2000 Pushcart Prize for his short story "Oblivion, Nebraska." He has written two novels, Raveling and Los Angeles, both published by Little, Brown.His short story Oblivion, Nebraska was adapted into a 2006 film by director Charlis Haine. His short story Forgetting the Girl was selected for the Best American Mystery Stories anthology in 2000. A film adaptation was directed by Nate Taylor. Smith is the brother of actress Julianne Moore. He currently resides with his wife, Brigette, and their son, Wolfgang aka "Wolfie", in New York City. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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