FILM
MEMORY
CHASTAIN AND SARSGAARD TEAM UP FOR A REDEMPTIVE DRAMA
Jessica Chastain as former addict Sylvia.
★★★★
OUT 23 FEBRUARY / CERT TBC / 100 MINS
DIRECTOR Michel Franco
CAST Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard, Merritt Wever, Brooke Timber, Elsie Fisher, Josh Charles, Jessica Harper
PLOT A recovering addict (Chastain) with a traumatic past lets her walls down for a sweet, handsome man (Sarsgaard) with early-onset dementia.
DESPITE THE FACT that Michel Franco’s new film focuses on an alcoholic grappling with the lingering effects of child abuse, Memory may well be his most buoyant work yet. The Mexican director, known for his violent and unforgiving plots (After Lucia, Chronic), is often considered something of a cinematic sadist who enjoys inflicting as much pain as possible onto his characters. This time, however, his trademark brand of screen cruelty finds a more optimistic narrative —almost feel-good in its theme of redemption.