An Unofficial Remember Me Site: Remember Me Discussion Group

Monday, August 2, 2010

Remember Me Discussion Group

What purpose does Janine's character serve?

18 comments:

BellaMarie247 said...: Interesting question ( I love this site BTW and loving talking about this film.)
In my experience as a personal assistant to rich and powerful men, you are a buffer for him from the outside world. Only a special few are allowed in. Janine had to be there to take the edge off of what would likely be contentious meetings of father and son. ("Try not to give him a heart attack").
She knew all along how much his children meant to Charles, and she understood that Tyler didn't get it because of how he distanced himself from them. The pain of losing a child can only be described by someone who has. Janine wants Tyler and Charles to be close, but also realizes they are damaged by what has come to pass, and are challenged by that reality.

She has obviously been with Charles through good times and bad, and has seen what losing his first born son has done to him. She also feels he is a good man, who is unfortunately incapable of showing affection to his living children because of the pain it would allow in.

Janine brings coffee and security to a powerful man who really is hiding from his own feelings in that big office. She lets Tyler see for himself that his father cares, and misses the life they had together. She gives Tyler his final gift: knowing his father loves him.; August 2, 2010 at 10:43 AM
LTavares2011 said...: Janine is the one who takes care of Charles. She is his secretary and probably a friend too because I am quite sure that she is working with him since a very long time. Janine is a loyal person, firm without loosing calm, very professional, mature, and seems to understand very well everything that is in Charles mind or almost everything. Tyler respects Janine.
In one scene, she appears at the cafeteria and talks with Tyler, about his diary and other things. It is a normal conversation. I love the way she always looks at him. It is always so serene. He seems at ease beside her, there is no pressure.
In the fight scene, at the office, between Charles and Tyler, Janine is present and intervenes properly telling him to leave, before something worse should happen.
At the end of the film, I remember when I first saw this scene: Tyler discovering the photos of his family in the computer of Charles, rediscovering the love of his father, and Janine there, standing beside him. I already had read the screenplay, I knew the final, so I smiled because she was there and I thought to myself he would not be alone. Now from that moment she would take care of Tyler. In my romantic view of life Janine is like a guardian angel. I like to think that there are many Janines in this world.
P.S. I like to say that the beautiful way how Kate Burton played the character Janine, during the film, was essential and significant to become this final scene very touching. She interacted very well with Rob. They moved me so much.; August 2, 2010 at 4:40 PM
jessegirl said...: BellaMarie and LTavares...
You have both said so well what Janine's role serves. Yes, at the cafeteria, the way she and Tyler look at each other; he is calm, becomes calmer around her, and she allows him to come to his own conclusions about his Dad. She doesn't lecture, but allows Tyler to make discoveries about Charles on his own. She, I think, loves that family. She looks at Tyler with such fond tenderness in the diner, yet she isn't effusive. In the boardroom scene she allows the men to go at it until the point where they might come to blows which would cause them both regret later.

That said, she is definitely the official buffer, as you said BellaMarie, and Tyler has to wait--smoking a cigarette in the reception area--until Janine calls him.
Allen Coulter told Kate Burton that this woman had probably had an affair with Charles at one point in the past, to play it that way. I guess.
But we really don't know anything about her own private life. Does she have a husband, children of her own? If not, fine a woman as she is, the role is a bit cliched. But Kate Burton is so good in the role nothing seems cliched at all. She handles it with just the right tone. She's fantastic in the role.
And yes, in a way she's a mother figure for Tyler and we know he died along side of someone who loved him. I can't imagine that they would have been able to exchange more than a look when that plane came ramming into them though. Just a look of puzzled shock perhaps, then instant death. That's it.; August 2, 2010 at 5:43 PM
ceecee said...: I agree with what jessiegirl said. But, I just watched a documentary on 9/11 and I think we know that Tyler was on the 90th floor. They said that anyone below the 93 had a chance of survival. So, Tyler and Janine could have survived, but obviously they didn't.... Can someone reply to this and let me know what they think of this comment?; August 3, 2010 at 4:32 PM
LTavares2011 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; August 3, 2010 at 7:42 PM
jessegirl said...: I've been reading about 9/11 and seen the horrifying film footage of that day. The book titled "INSIDE 9/11" says: North Tower: "Floors 94 to 99 were destroyed immediately." And everyone above that was doomed in the North Tower. Now, looking at where Tyler stood, dead center, on the same side of the building, on that approximate level, he would have been vaporized instantly.("Death came in fractions of seconds to people on the floors immediately affected by the impact. The fire simply vaporized them.") No question. The thing is, we don't know Tyler was on the 90th floor. We know the elevator went at least that high, and he could have gone higher. We don't know, from the film, what floor he got off. But if one was really interested one could take a screencap of that moment and compare to a picture of the gaping hole the plane made on impact. As far as I could tell, Tyler was at ground zero. He did not make it. But his fate was kinder than that of the poor people above the point of impact. They either burned, suffocated or jumped because they knew they were doomed. It was absolutely horrific. Jet fuel also poured down the lower floors at 300 mph. Sorry, but Tyler and Janine couldn't have survived.; August 3, 2010 at 7:45 PM
LTavares2011 said...: @ceecee
Many things could have happened that day as someone well said, in a previous discussion, Tyler could have stayed in bed with Ally for more time but the screenwriter opted for an impacting final to his story. It was shocking when I read it. Janine and Tyler were cowardly killed. If I could rewrite the final of this scene, yes I would do it. Tyler and Janine would have gone at the cafeteria to take a coffee, they would begin to talk more about the photos in the computer of Charles and they would not have time to come back to the building. But it would be another story, another film, another emotions.; August 3, 2010 at 7:53 PM
BellaMarie247 said...: Jessegirl...please don't do that to yourself. It's too awful, too depressing. And I know what you're doing inside your head reading all this stuff. You're going too deep, and it's not good, honestly. Yesterday, I was immersed in this film, reading all that has been written here on this wonderful blog, as well as watching the DVD both with and without cast comments. It can become a very dark place because of living through Sept 11, and because we love Robert Pattinson, putting him and that awful day together even in our tortured imaginations is too much to bear.

Of course it would have been easier if they somehow made it out of there, as thousand of people did. But what would that have done to the film and the reactions and discussions that come about after seeing the way it ends? It wouldn't make much of a movie...despite what some think, the ending is what ties the entire story together and makes the characters so much more real and tragic.

Stay out of that dark dark tunnel. I know everyone says there's a light at the end of it, but we're not ready to go into the light just yet, Right Jess? We've got stuff to write and life to live. We have to get the word out on this site...I know there's alot of folks out there who would like to join this intelligent and interesting discussion.
Thank you so much for your insights. I truly enjoy being here.; August 3, 2010 at 8:28 PM
Jen said...: Janine has probably been the glue that holds Charles together. She obviously has been involved with his life and family for years. She knows that it is going to be Tyler’s birthday and she also tells Tyler when she sees his messed up face that he shouldn’t give his Father a heart attack. She waits patiently for Tyler to ask for an Invoice for the lawyer but Tyler is so ticked off her walks out with doing it. She in reality is the buffer for Charles and the family.

Her telling Tyler to get out when he has the confrontation with Charles and he does shows that he does respect her words…he leaves.

Janine being with Tyler on that fateful morning gives us a sight of seeing how much work she put into scanning the pictures for Charles, showing his family at a happier time. I think Tyler seeing this gave him total joy that his Father did love them and could see them daily even thought he was not a man of tender words. Janine couldn’t recall how long it had been when Michael died and Tyler accepted it touching her gently as he walked towards the window feeling calm and happy with his world. .; August 3, 2010 at 9:55 PM
Jen said...: Janine has probably been the glue that holds Charles together. She obviously has been involved with his life and family for years. She knows that it is going to be Tyler’s birthday and she also tells Tyler when she sees his messed up face that he shouldn’t give his Father a heart attack. She waits patiently for Tyler to ask for an Invoice for the lawyer but Tyler is so ticked off he walks out with out doing it. She in reality is the buffer for Charles and the family.

Her telling Tyler to get out when he has the confrontation with Charles and he does---shows that he does respect her words he leaves.

Janine being with Tyler on that fateful morning gives us a sight of seeing how much work she put into scanning the pictures for Charles, showing his family at a happier time. I think Tyler seeing this gave him total joy that his Father did love them and could see them daily even thought he was not a man of tender words. Janine couldn’t recall how long it had been since Michael died and Tyler gracefully accepted it touching her gently as he walked towards the window feeling calm and happy with his world.; August 3, 2010 at 10:02 PM
jessegirl said...: ceecee...did you get that?

Sorry BellaMarie...for going there. I was, I thought, sort of answering ceecee. Yes, I know, it is the dark night of the soul. One cannot avoid it when it comes; one can just experience it and hope to come into the light stronger. Not the same light I think you mean (the one we meet at our own death?). There is a reason for it, painful and cruel though it might be.

Don't worry about me. You've noticed that I've written and Kat has posted 6 of my articles. That's part of my way, I know, of dealing. And it is my sincere hope that a positive message about this film will reach a larger number of people, that, in my small way, I can turn the tide of negativity it has had to endure. When I think of the beautiful, if flawed, way the filmmakers produced this, and its special effect on audiences--running deeper than the special effects movies--but also see the prejudice against it, it makes me sick.

In RM, as InstantKarmaGirl said in another post (which I used in my last article about the ending), "Everything narrowed into what this story was meant to be, meant to do." It was always going for the dark night, to the end of Tyler's journey, and, BellaMarie, we had to go there too, didn't we? That was the point.
I appreciate your concern and I won't put other horrific details of the massacre here; I just thought ceecee wanted some facts.

Bella...we know Rob is not Tyler, or Edward, or any other character he plays. Now, his problem is the scumbag paps; it's disgusting, if you've seen any of the current reports. But of course Rob brought Tyler to us in such a beautiful and natural way that--even though we are fully capable of separating fiction from reality, Rob from Tyler--because the character seemed so real and looked like Rob, this superimposition was very rattling.
I'm glad you've joined our group.

Jen, *waves*. Oh man, that little touch said so much, didn't it?; August 3, 2010 at 11:14 PM
Jen said...: Jessegirl "hugs" Yes that touch was so gentle and kind. It was like he was saying thank you Janine for scanning the pictures and keeping us alive for my Dad and mostly for being there for my Dad. Also for being so good,kind and understanding to me even when I was a creep.; August 3, 2010 at 11:30 PM
BellaMarie247 said...: It's so easy to say "life goes on" and tell someone who has suffered a terrible and tragic loss that now you must live every day to the fullest and find happiness because there are no guarantees. I've said it to myself thousands of times, and to others who are in similar pain.
But not everyone knows that the path we take out of the blackness is filled with broken glass, snakes, unexpected voids and many a deep dark crevasse waiting swallow us forever.

So we fight the darkness...soldier on for the sake of our family & friends and for our own selves because we're strong. And so the Mother, Father, Sister, Friend and Lover of Tyler Hawkins did, for we see them beyond the sadness and into the realm of misty remembrance and determined, gut-wrenching LIFE. Going on. A littler bit better and stronger, perhaps. Surely wiser and more aware of our fragile hold on life.
It's the point of the movie, and it's why we had to lose Tyler and Janine. We all suffered a terrible loss on Sept 11...a loss so great that we are likely to try to forget. The United States was changed forever that day. People all over the world were affected by what they saw and what we lived through. We must not forget those we've lost or our determination to live on in remembrance, embracing our new found strength.
Remember Me will do that for us.; August 4, 2010 at 12:46 AM
WhyIstheRumAlwaysGone said...: @jessegirl , Will Fetter's script says Tyler was the 92nd floor. I quote: "INT. 78TH FLOOR SKY LOBBY -- LATER. Tyler steps out of the elevator and into a sky lobby. He walks across the room to another bank of elevators. He presses the up arrow. An elevator opens. Tyler steps on and presses the number 92. The doors close." Is that ground zero or not ? I'm not brave enough to look out for details like you or try and determine if he was gone instantly or not. I'm not sure I want to go there. The blank screen which comes up immediately after he looks at the window seems to imply death was instantaneous, though.
RM takes us to really dark places.; August 4, 2010 at 8:34 AM
ceecee said...: Will Fetter's script is amazing! I read the original online and I really think they should have stuck with that totally. The ending in the original script is so emotional, as if they first wasn't already-the original also had me nearly in tears.; August 5, 2010 at 5:53 AM
Jen said...: Ceecee or anyone how can I find Will Fetter's script for Remember Me I would love to read it
Thanks; August 5, 2010 at 9:47 PM
kat said...: I always felt that part of Janine's role was to elude to a side of Charles that he couldn't show us. The man who might be a bit upset at the sight of his bloddied son, the man who still drinks the same coffee after success. A man who would be upset at Tyler's blaming of him for his son's suicide and someone, who by scanning all of the family photos into the computer would know how Charles really felt about his family.; August 7, 2010 at 9:39 PM
jessegirl said...: Yes, Kat, not just a buffer, but the person who shows us and Tyler, in little ways, like Charles coffee preference, what he is like. I think Tyler enjoys that little conversation with Janine in the coffee shop, receiving a little tidbit of information about his Dad. Actually, one could surmise that this little encounter has happened before, Tyler in the coffee shop writing in his journal and Janine coming to get coffee for Charles, and that these two have had similar tiny conversations/greetings before. After all, both of them are following their usual habits.
So, here's this warm, friendly woman serving Tyler glimpses of his Dad which his Dad wouldn't show him.; August 7, 2010 at 11:15 PM