Movie will soon be 'forgotten'

Start with a very interesting and eerie hook: A mother who mourns the death of her 9-year-old son finds out that he didn't really die in a plane crash over a year ago; he never even existed. Then throw in an alcoholic ex-hockey player, the Feds, aliens and a couple of senseless chase scenes, and you're not left with a very good flick. \nJulianne Moore plays Telly, a wife, mother and editor who has lived through 14 months of agony after the plane in which her son Sam was riding goes missing. She starts to notice that pictures and other reminders of her son around the house are disappearing or being altered and immediately blames her husband (Anthony Edwards), who insists that Telly had a miscarriage several years back and never gave birth. Her shrink (Sinise) verifies this, claiming that severe mental trauma can cause people to invent memories. \nTelly can hear no more and flees her home. She soon encounters Ash (Dominic West), who lost his daughter in the same plane crash, or so she remembers. The two team up and quickly become involved in a citywide chase with cops and agents from the National Security Agency while they simultaneously attempt to uncover the whereabouts of their children, who have to be alive, because why else would agents be after them? Sounds like a conspiracy to me, but unfortunately it is one that is never really explained. \nThe film gets too wrapped up in science fiction to make much sense. It may be believable, but only because it is set up to be. For instance, when searching for clues, Telly asks Ash what he thinks about aliens. That sure came out of left field. What happened to inventing false memories, people? To add to the wacky sci-fi, buildings randomly implode and characters are sporadically sucked into the sky at warp speed, never to be seen again. \nIf you're expecting a mind-blowing twist at the end you are out of luck here. There is an explanation of why all this crazy stuff is happening, but it's a cop-out that is basically used to cover up the lack of a surprise ending, and the character who explains it exists for no other reason. \nThe film does have a few upsides. Julianne Moore is amazing as a grieving mother who cannot stop believing her son is alive, and there is a brilliant shot of a car crash seen from the inside of the vehicle that will knock your socks off. Other than that, you are in for a disappointment.