Memory: Michel Franco splits the armor… and it suits him well! (critical)

When the meeting of two broken souls gives birth to the most unexpected love story, masterfully embodied by the duo Jessica Chastain-Peter Sarsgaard.

A film like a puzzle in which we discover unexpected pieces until the final image. A film rich in surprises without simply being obsessed with them because as its title indicates, it unfolds like a variation around failing memory. We first meet Sylvie, a woman on edge, whose need for a structured daily life built around her work, her daughter and her meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous so as not to relapse.

But a grain of sand will ruin everything. A reunion of her high school seniors where she thinks she recognizes Saul as one of her classmates who sexually assaulted her. Saul who, that evening, will follow her, sleep outside her apartment and no longer remember anything in the morning because of the degenerative disease which destroys his memory. Sylvie will quickly understand that her memory is also playing tricks on her but this meeting will forever upset everything in her, give her the courage to confront her past and hope to find love again while by dint of wanting to protect them to better protect herself. protect themselves, Sylvie's mother and Saul's brother sentenced them to an emotional prison for life.

With this moving melodrama, Michel Franco cracks the armor like never before. But by gradually changing the point of view on his characters, he creates a climate of tension and instability which nip any sentimentality in the bud. And if Peter Sarsgaard won the acting prize in Venice, it is impossible to dissociate it from Jessica Chastain just as impressive as him.

Memory. Of Michel Franco. With Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard, Merritt Wever… Duration 1h40. Released May 29, 2024