Movie Review: Memory (2023)

Something a little different for me in terms of movies I usually review, Memory is a film I was invited along to see by my partner, and both of us didn't know much about the movie going in, other than it was a film where one of the leads has dementia.

The basic premise follows adult, special needs social worker, Sylvia (Jessica Chastain), who leads a simple and structured life. When Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) follows her home from their high school reunion the surprise encounter profoundly impacts both of their lives.

The film starts out very awkward and disjointed to some degree, which I feel is intentional, to reflect that Sylvia, who is also a struggling single mother, is fairly resilient, she is, in many ways, just barely holding everything together because she doesn't have any other option.

When Saul sees Sylvia at their high school reunion it seems like some unpleasant memories from her past are fast tracked into the forefront of her life, and things move forward from there.

I found this movie to be an engaging character study, and a little bit of a 'slice of life' film given that it just kind of picks a point to end... and just ends. The two main character's lives are clearly positioned by that point, so it's not unsatisfying, but there was definitely a little more story that could have been told.

Ultimately it's a kind of romance that is navigating two very different areas of mental health, with Silva dealing with a history she probably would just rather forget, and Saul struggling to remember whatever he can hang onto.

It could, potentially, be confronting to anyone dealing with past trauma, dementia, or is close to someone who is, but I feel it is a fairly contemporary look at how these things can affect people's lives. It's well acted and feels very real and believable ending at a hopeful point, though, as I said, there's probably a bit more story that could've been told.

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