By John Mulderig • Catholic News Service • Posted April 21, 2017

NEW YORK (CNS) — The few adult viewers for whom it’s suitable might be tempted to nickname the feverish domestic drama “Unforgettable” (Warner Bros.) “Wifie Dearest.”

That’s because Tessa Connover (Katherine Heigl), the obsessive, perfectionist ex-spouse at the center of the film’s action, continually calls to mind Faye Dunaway’s fuming, rage-prone persona as Joan Crawford in 1981’s “Mommie Dearest.”

It’s not the use of wire hangers that has Tessa seething, though. Rather, it’s the prospect of her milquetoast former husband David’s (Geoff Stults) forthcoming marriage to his live-in girlfriend, Julia Banks (Rosario Dawson).

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By purloining Julia’s cellphone — shared custody of young daughter Lily (Isabella Kai Rice) gives Tessa access to the new couple’s household — Tessa conveniently discovers that her rival has an abusive ex-boyfriend named Michael Vargas (Simon Kassianides). Impersonating Julia online, she reconnects with the brute, and it’s not long before she’s planning to frame Julia for his murder.

That may sound like a spoiler, by the way. But in fact, the movie opens with a battered and bewildered Julia being interrogated over the crime, then switches to a prolonged “how did we get here?” flashback.

Director Denise Di Novi keeps the pot boiling along the way to a climactic catfight in which hair is pulled, fingernails are deployed and a fireplace poker is brandished. But Di Novi and screenwriter Christina Hodson throw in some unsavory and gratuitous ingredients that limit the appeal of “Unforgettable” even for those with a taste for cinematic junk food.

These include Tessa’s emotionless — and futureless — parking-lot tryst with a good-looking stranger she just met and David and Julia’s escapade in a restaurant bathroom. In another scene, Julia no sooner turns on the taps of her bathtub at home than the experienced moviegoer knows that her silky robe is coming off on screen.

It’s not silk that sells, after all.

The film contains occasional violence with some gore, cohabitation, strong sexual content including graphic scenes of casual and premarital sexual activity and masturbation, brief rear and partial nudity, about a half-dozen uses of rough language, a few crude terms and a mild oath. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.