Review: Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard star in beautifully crafted relationship drama Memory

This year has been great for the kind of movies I’m naturally drawn to, movies that don’t have a lot of flash or special effects but with real, authentic stories about this flawed human experiment we all live through. Trying to. Nicole Holofcener’s was one of my favorites in 2023 you hurt my feelings The little insults and lies we tell even those we love most; Arrive, Kelly Reichardt’s very relevant take on suffering for our art, even if that suffering is of our own making; And of course, incredibly powerful we are all strangers, Andrew Haigh’s meditation on loss, grievance, and finding your way through it all. Add Michael Franco to that list of accomplishments MemoryAbout a man and woman facing their own midlife crisis whose worlds intersect in ways no one could have expected.

Starring Jessica Chastain as Sylvia and Peter Sarsgaard as Saul, Memory Gradually introduces us to its characters. Former teenager Anna (Brooke Timbers) is a single mother, who does her best to understand that the structure and rules Sylvia imposes on her life are for their own good. Sylvia always wants to know where her daughter is; There is an additional security system at his New York City apartment. A social worker for adults with developmental delays, Sylvia is a gentle person, but it’s clear she’s cautious. She reluctantly agrees to go to a high school reunion with her more outgoing (and socially adept) sister, Olivia (the great Merritt Wever), where she sits quietly at a table while Olivia chats with former classmates. Is available.

Saul is also at the reunion, looking a little tired and lost in his surroundings. After the incident he quietly follows Sylvia home, inexplicably sleeping outside her building in the rain throughout the night, where she finds him there the next morning when she leaves for work. Thus begins the strange and multilayered relationship between Sylvia and Saul, which will create unresolved trauma in both of them and turmoil in their immediate families as well. After this morning’s meeting, Sylvia finds herself more involved in Saul’s life, as his primary caregivers, his brother, Isaac (Josh Charles) and teenage niece, Sarah (Elsie Fisher), come to the house to care for him. Let’s say for. all the time. After much deliberation, Sylvia agreed. first part of if Memory Following a mystery that slowly uncovers past experiences and relationships, the second part becomes a journey through discovery as Sylvia and Saul, who is suffering from early dementia, find each other more fully, themselves. Allowed to be vulnerable.

Franco creates a multi-generational world here, as we learn that Sylvia and Olivia are also navigating their relationship with their emotionally distant mother, and soon Anna joins this dynamic. As she attempts to build a relationship with a grandmother she hardly knows. It all serves to create a deeply relatable narrative as Sylvia attempts to juggle multiple emotional, personal and professional plates at once, something that anyone “working” today can empathize with. Chastain’s performance is reserved when appropriate (Sylvia has learned to keep what she’s experiencing internally close to the vest) but is often heartbreakingly vulnerable, especially when Saul’s sensitivity and presence come to her. Starts breaking the security.

Sarsgaard approaches Saul, who is out of control over much of his life, even his mind, with a tenderness he often brings to the screen. For a relatively young person faced with this type of neurological problem, he deals with his frustrations and confusion with surprising (and admirable) patience most of the time. The chemistry between these two broken souls, no matter how fragile and uncertain they may think it to be, is still real and palpable to those of us watching.

MemoryLike many people like me, I believe that film works best by bringing its audience into the lived experience of the people involved. With extraordinary performances from Chastain and Sarsgaard at its center, Franco’s relationship drama elicits empathy and recognition, a reminder that no matter how imperfect we are (or will become), we are worthy of love and connection wherever we are. It is introduced.

Memory Now in theatres.

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