Remember Me is a 2010 drama film starring Robert Pattinson, Pierce Brosnan, and Emilie de Ravin.
It follows the lives of two families in New York City. Tyler (Pattinson) is a typical screw up young college student who only seems to care about his little sister Caroline, as his home life is fairly screwed up since his parents are divorced, and the father (Brosnan) has remained distant ever since the eldest brother killed himself. Tyler meets Allie (De Ravin) who has issues of her own, her mother being murdered on the subway in front of her when she was eleven, and her father being an overprotective fireman.
Not to be confused with the video game of the same name, the fantasy book series, or the Oscar-winning song.
This film provides examples of:
- 20 Minutes into the Past: The 2010 romcom is set a little less than a decade earlier, in 2001. This turns out to be relevant when Tyler dies in the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001.
- Adults Are Useless:
- The teachers at Caroline's school. The girl was attacked at a birthday party, which they don't punish the bullies for, because it didn't happen on school property and believe their “claims” that Caroline cut half of her own hair for no reason.
- The next time Caroline is at school, one of the bullies has no problem taunting her in front of the whole class and the teacher does nothing but tell her students to stop laughing, but refuses to punish them. She only voices her protests when Tyler throws a desk and fire extinguisher in response to the bullies’ taunts.
- Amicable Exes: Charles and Diane.
- Berserk Button: Allie's father Neil seems like a sensible enough man but don't you dare mention his wife. And in Tyler's case, don't ever harm Caroline.
- Big Brother Instinct: Tyler, big time. The bullies made a big mistake for having the nerve to outright taunt Caroline’s Traumatic Haircut right in front of him, and he scares them by roughly pushing away one of their desks and throwing a fire extinguisher out the window. They’re lucky he didn’t get physically violent with her but his expression spelled out he came dangerously close.
- Blatant Lies: Caroline’s bullies chop off half of her hair (apparently while she was sleeping no less!), and go as low as to tell the adults that she did it herself. Given Caroline’s shaken expression over the incident, it’s clearly all bull, and her family obviously see it for what it is, but the bullies’ parents and teachers honestly believe it and refuse to punish them.
- Bookends: The film opens and ends with Allie in the subway.
- Brick Joke: Aidan brags about having slept with a girl of every ethnicity. Allie asks about an eskimo and he responds that there is a certain girl who works at the library. The focus then switches to Tyler arriving home to find Allie's father waiting for him. After that big scene is over, Allie arrives home saying she'd just been at the library speaking with the girl in question.
- Buffy Speak: Tyler and Allie decide that Aidan is actually addicted to being an asshole and dub him an "assaholic".
- Call-Back: At the very end of the film Allie rides on the subway for the first time since her mother's murder, to show she's moving on.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Two examples.
- Allie calls hers out early in the film when he flips out at her staying the night at someone else's. He ends up hitting her in a fit of rage and she doesn't see him again until near the end.
- When Charles misses Caroline's art show due to a business meeting, Tyler storms into his office and calls him out. Then Charles throws that back at Tyler, because he clearly regrets missing the art show and reminds Tyler that he's just a kid without any responsibility while Charles has to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
- The Casanova: Aidan. He brags that he's had a girl of every ethnicity possible. Including Inuit.
- Cerebus Call-Back: Inverted. Early on in the movie Tyler is bailed out of jail by his father in a somber scene. The second time it happens, much later in the story, it's a humorous scene with Charles and Tyler laughing about it.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The girls in Caroline's class are seen giggling unkindly at her in one scene and don't appear again until Caroline has to go to a birthday party, where the incident prompts the entire family to pull together.
- Child Prodigy: Caroline. She's quite a talented artist and is implied to get good grades at school.
- Daddy Didn't Show: Charles misses Caroline's art show because he's at a business meeting.
- Daddy's Girl: The epilogue shows that Charles and Caroline become much closer, him taking her to art galleries.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Mildly since the film is set ten years before it was made.
- Allie's father is even more worried by her staying out all night because she'd be less likely to have a cell phone and he wouldn't be as reachable via text or social media to confirm her whereabouts.
- Caroline is bullied for being smart and studious. Early 2000s attitudes were that Dumb Is Good, and acting stupid was considered cool. Her teachers do not intervene to stop the bullying, reminding viewers of how lax attitudes towards it were at the start of the decade.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Allie. She's funny, she's cute, she's perky and she loves life.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the epilogue we see Caroline's hair grown back symbolising her and Charles bonding after Tyler's death while Allie's hair is also longer.
- Fanservice: Allie certainly gets plenty of scenes showing off her lovely legs.
- Foreshadowing:
- The ending is foreshadowed by a shot of the Twin Towers at the beginning.
- A shadow of a bird in the shape of a plane can be seen on Tyler's back during a love scene.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the epilogue Aidan has gotten a memorial tattoo of Tyler.
- Gilligan Cut: Allie says she'll stay at the party for a drink or two. Cut to her throwing up in the toilet and passing out.
- Girl Posse: Eleven-year-old versions of them. They invite Caroline to a birthday party and sleep-over, but it was just so they can bully her outside of school. They get away with cutting off her own hair by stating that Caroline did it to herself. Even when Caroline comes back to school and is clearly scared of everything that has happened, they have the audacity to “complement” her “beautiful” Traumatic Haircut. In front of her older brother no less. Who promptly responds with pushing away a desk in a violent manner, twice, and throws out a fire extinguisher with an expression that spells out “Say another word about my little sister, you bitch. I dare you and see where that gets you”. Needless to say, the bullies get the message.
- Humiliation Conga: The girls who bully Caroline aren't punished because the incident didn't happen on school property. Half of it happens off-screen but the girls who bullied Caroline get their just desserts from Tyler and Charles. Tyler grabs one of the girl's desks off the floor, flings it at the wall and then throws it back in front of her before throwing a fire extinguisher through the classroom door. It's then revealed that Charles has pulled some strings so that the school can't press charges against Tyler or else he'll do the same for what happened to Caroline. And he's also threatened to sue all of the girls' parents unless they all immediately transfer to other schools.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Charles and Tyler. Guess it runs in the family. Aidan could also count.
- Kick the Dog: Caroline, with her hair cut off, has to be brought into school by Tyler because she's so shaken. One of the other girls sarcastically remarks "I like your hair".
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Allie could be seen as a Reconstruction. First, Tyler seeks her out and just for the sake of a prank. Her quirky hobbies are juxtaposed with witnessing her mother's murder and a strained relationship with her father. Plus Tyler dies while Allie continues to live her life, therefore growing as a character more. In addition to this, she's quite fun and lively, and getting with her does improve Tyler's life immensely.
- Middle Child Syndrome: Present, as Tyler is the screw-up of the family in between an older brother who appears to have been well-loved by all, and an intelligent younger sister. However, he is the protagonist of the film and has the most character growth.
- Missing Mom: Allie's mother is murdered by muggers at the start of the film.
- Morality Pet: Caroline for Tyler.
- Nostalgia Ain't Like It Used to Be: The film is set in the early 2000s and just appears to be slightly nostalgic for the period - lack of cellphones among the main characters, Allie's midriff-barring wardrobe, the father being able to use his wealth before fear of the recession, American Pie 2 in cinemas etc. But Caroline is bullied for being smart, as a reminder that attitudes towards school bullying were still very casual. Then Tyler dies in the 9/11 attacks.
- Papa Wolf: Little girls, you should not have been mean to Caroline. After bailing Tyler out, Charles reveals that he’s threatened the school board and the bullies’ parents to back off from suing his son for acting out in defense of his little sister and forced the bullies to transfer to a different school. While he doesn’t outright admit it, Charles is indeed proud of Tyler for defending Caroline, but warns him to stop destroying public property.
- Posthumous Narration: Tyler is revealed to have died in the 9/11 attacks at the end.
- Real Tragedy, Fictional Victim: The film has an infamous Sudden Downer Ending where Caroline goes to school and her brother Tyler goes to work. The date written on the classroom chalkboard is September 11th, 2001, and a shot in Tyler's office pulls back to reveal that he works in the World Trade Center. The final scene is about Tyler's family and loved ones coping and trying to move on after his death.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Charles rather blatantly uses his wealth and power to prevent the school from pressing charges against Tyler for defending Caroline, as well as threatening the parents of the bullies to make them immediately transfer schools.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Tyler - the introverted man who keeps a journal and cherishes his little sister. Aiden - the "assoholic" who has quite the collection of one night stands.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: The family have all got their lives sorted out... and then Tyler is suddenly killed in the 9/11 attacks. Subverted then when we see that the characters eventually do move on from his death.
- Sudden Downer Ending: One of the most notorious. The movie ends with Tyler being killed on 9/11 and the characters having to move on without him.
- Time Skip: The movie begins in 1991 and then skips ahead ten years.
- Traumatic Haircut: Caroline goes to a slumber party with girls from school and the next time we see her a huge chunk of her hair has been cut off.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: A viewer can easily see the twist coming by just simply doing the math in the time skip.
- Wham Shot: The teacher casually writing the date on the blackboard: September 11th, 2001.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Neil strikes Allie in a moment of rage when she taunts him about her mother.
- Win Her a Prize: The male lead ends up buying the stuffed animal for his girl. She thinks he cheated. He says he won.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Even though the little girls traumatized Caroline, Tyler doesn't physically hit them — he just settles for scaring them shitless instead.
