Rather than sugarcoating the effects of death and suicide, the new drama, Remember Me faces them head on, exposing the pain and dysfunction that usually follows tragedy.

However, I walked into the theater expecting a melodramatic chick flick that would showcase Robert Pattinson, one of the main characters. But what I got was an intensely emotional story about two very real people struggling to cope with the pain of losing loved ones. This movie broke my heart in a way that I’m not sure I can put into words.

First off, I’m not one to cry in movies — my eyes were dry throughout The Notebook and Titanic. This movie, however, had my two friends and I bawling. I had a knot in my stomach for a few hours after the movie. The emotions expressed by the characters really stirred my heart.

The movie centers around the main characters, Tyler (Pattinson) and Allie (Emilie de Ravin), who have both have lost a family member and attempt to cope in different ways. Tyler loses his brother to suicide while Allie witnesses her mother’s murder.

The first time Tyler is introduced, he is sitting on his porch, smoking and drinking a beer — at nine in the morning. He goes inside and viewers notice the girl left in his bed from the night before. He also continues to smoke and drink in other scenes throughout the movie. A confrontation between Tyler and his father sheds some light on the reason for his reckless behavior.

The rest of the movie follows Allie and Tyler’s somewhat unorthodox relationship. Allie and Tyler could not be more different from each other. Allie does exactly what she’s told; Tyler does exactly the opposite.

The start of their relationship is a little cliche: Tyler is dared to ask her out by his best friend. She agrees, and unintentionally falls for him. She eventually finds out about the dare, gets angry, and the typical temporary breakup follows.

A major part of the movie is the conflict between Tyler and his father. He strives to get his father more involved in his sister’s life. This struggle becomes very emotional, and involves multiple screaming fights, one of which takes place in front his father’s colleagues.

One of my favorite aspects of the movie is Tyler’s relationship with his sister. After their brother’s suicide, the father becomes detached from his family. Because of his lack of involvement, Tyler becomes a surrogate father for his baby sister.

In contrast to this father-like figure, when I anticipated Pattinson’s performance, I expected to see a scruffy, bad-boy version of Edward Cullen. However, it was better than I imagined; after seeing Remember Me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to sit through Twilight again. It just won’t be the same.

As much as I loved this movie, I felt like a lot of the language and sexual content could have been left out. With two F-bombs and countless other profanities, this movie really should have been rated R instead of PG-13. In addition to the crude language, there are three love scenes; two are implied, but the other one is graphic.

While there is no actual nudity in the film, not much is left to the imagination. The themes and situations in the movie are all very intense and gritty. Despite the rating, I would not recommend this movie for anyone under 16.

Despite these annoyances, the ending of this great movie hit me hard — and I mean hard. It was very unexpected, and didn’t seem to fit with the plot. However, looking back, I realize that there were multiple hints leading up to it; I simply missed them. This movie is an emotional roller coaster, as the mood changes from scene to scene.

After leaving the theater I found it hard to detach myself from the events in the movie. I felt like what had happened was real, and my heart was actually broken.

Many critics have complained about the movie, saying it uses “emotional manipulation” on the audience. While I did feel like my emotions had been played with, I did not really mind. In my opinion, being that affected by a movie can be a good thing. It means that the movie becomes a part of you, and that you really believe it. For me, that is what makes a good movie.

Remember Me is playing in most local theaters. For showtimes and tickets, visit Fandango.

For more movie reviews, check out the Feb. 19 article, Celebs cloud up ‘Valentine’s Day’.