Peter Sarsgaard Jessica Chastain Memory (2023)
Memory is a film that looks incredibly worn and lived in. From the shabby clothes worn by Sol played by Peter Sarsgaard, to the cracked paint on the walls of Sylvia’s hallway. (Played by Jessica Chastain).
It’s a film that tells its story of hard lines through small vignettes into peoples lives rather than lengthy exposition. These tiny windows into the lives of Sol and Sylvia mean it’s up to the audience to fill in the colour of these characters, based on moments and reactions. Indeed we’re not wholly convinced that Sylvia is telling the truth about anything until the very end.
Interestingly, the pivotal scenes are the lengthy ones and done in one take. Scenes such as the confrontation in the park, the love scene in Sylvia’s apartment and the climatic showdown with the mother in her sister’s house.
The relationships are entirely believable and well arced.
My only consideration is that the abrupt ending made me question, is this a film that knows what to do with itself? Did the showdown with the mother derail the film so that the ending felt a little underwhelming and unfulfilled?
But it’s a film that was refreshingly real, beautifully shot, it requires patience but the actors performances certainly deserve that and who doesn’t love Procol Harum? Incidentally I once did own a Hammond and Sol is right, they are huge, weigh a tonne and are entirely impractical as house instruments.
MEMORY is in UK and Irish cinemas from 23rd February memoryfilm.uk
