The Forgiving

Honestly, I like the idea of using ghosts to jumpstart Avi back to the living. However, this supernatural twist to the story seems out of balance compared to the amount of time spent following his actual grounded life, including fights with Beth, his state of depression, flashbacks, and thoughts of suicide. Because the ghost “gimmick” stands out so much from the rest of the movie, I wish the film was primarily about Avi’s conversations with the spirits. You can then allow every other aspect of his life to either support or shed light on his state of being. I focus on the ghosts because they serve as a catalyst for Avi to reconnect with life, and it’s these moments when The Forgiving comes to life.

The acting is hit-or-miss. Healy and Sokolowski are fantastic as Avi and Beth, but some of the supporting characters struck me oddly. There are times when it felt like they were reciting lines of dialogue instead of expressing genuine thoughts and emotions, particularly Avi’s therapist and his father’s ghost. The choices may have been intentional, but it comes off sounding scripted.

“…life has a way of stepping in and doing it for us, ending with either hopeful or disastrous results.”

There are positives with The Forgiving that shouldn’t be overlooked. What’s interesting to me is that as we watch our friends suffer through grief, there comes the point down the road where we want to shake that person and say, “get over it.” We do nothing because we don’t want to be perceived as the villain, as portrayed by ex-wife Beth. When close friends cannot speak the truth, life has a way of stepping in and doing it for us, ending with either hopeful or disastrous results.

There are a lot of stories on the market with grief as the central theme. While The Forgiving tells a heartfelt story, it risks getting lost in the pack. In the end, I’ll say “see The Forgiving,” when I wish I could say, “you must see The Forgiving.”