Sadly, this review of memory is based on a screener copy I received, and I don’t have any audio description information as a result. However, you may not even know there was a film called memory in contention last year, and now you know. So, that’s a reason to give me more screeners. I honestly don’t know how there are critics on the internet with clearly less social engagement than me who are getting advance copies of things. Blows my mind.
Memory features a recovering alcoholic, played by Jessica Chastain, who attends her class reunion where she notices a man (Peter Sarsgaard) that brings up some old painful memories for her. However, these may not be real, and as Chastain’s character engages, she uncovers that the man she thought she knew suffers from an inability to truly access most of his memories.
Sarsgaard won Best Actor for this film at the Venice film festival, and while he’s one of the most consistently terrific actors working, he seems to greatly be undervalued. I love Chastain, and I am not discounting the performance she gives, but Sarsgaard is terrific as someone who isn’t really ever certain of anything, and seems lost somehow to time itself.
Don’t mistake this for some odd romance, as it is much more of a character study. Supporting turns from Josh Charles, Merrit Weaver, and Elsie Fisher help to round out a mostly successful film. My biggest problem is in the direction of choosing to feature Chastain as the more prominent lead, even after Sarsgaard is introduced, which led to a Supporting Actor campaign for him. He delivers a stunning performance with a well written character we don’t see often on screen, whereas Chastain’s trauma suffering recovering alcoholic feels like a dime a dozen in cinema. They should feel more like co-leads, but the film continues to push Chastain forward, like by giving her a more well developed family than Sarsgaard.
If this is somewhere with audio description and you can catch it, I’d recommend it. I can understand why it fell short this year, as this was an amazing year for cinema. Memory wants to ask important and big questions, but too often asks a lot of the same questions films before have already asked. The reason to watch here is Sarsgaard, who delivers a truly special performance.
Final Grade: B