The first 30-40 minutes bloated up the runtime, and wasted precious time that could've been used to flesh out the characters.
When Silvia's backstory is finally revealed, while tragic, it couldn't have been more clichéd.
The movie presents so many issues (child abuse, sexual assault, teen alcoholism, AA meetings, dementia, controlling relatives etc.), but it doesn't unpack or explore the characters. It just hits you with them for shock value, but it's not like it's anything we haven't seen a million times before.
There are so many conflicts between characters, but we never see any meaningful development. We just catch the beginning of the conflict, and then it cuts to the aftermath. It's like the filmmaker is purposefully treating the audience, like Silvia treated her daughter.
Silvia (and Olivia) needed therapy, not a freaking cult like AA.
And the ending was abrupt and naive.
If you liked this, go watch Bates Motel (2013) and Help (2021).
Horrendously boring. The story was disturbingly awful, the acting was mediocre, the visuals and sounds were plain, the pace was painstakingly slow, and it wasn't worth the watch. I kept waiting to feel attached. Don't get me wrong, I love Jessica Chastain, but not even she could save this. Took me days to finish it because I didn't want to put myself through the pain, but my ocd won. I was looking forward to this so I'm majorly disappointed. Oh well.
Shout by XiofireBlockedParent2024-02-20T23:17:36Z
There is a level of raw realism throughout Memory that is subtle and gripping. A mumbling, unsaid tragedy adorned with complex, nuanced characters whose truth is slowly eeked out over side comments and leaky exposition. Actions are used over words to convey further subtle idiosyncrasies of these people, defining who they are and what lead them here. It's very impressive, and a joy to see a movie that treats its audience with a level of maturity and respect to let them parse these broken, damaged people for themselves. One afflicted with a disease that causes them to forget, and one bound by the trauma of her childhood that she'd do anything to forget.
Heavy viewing with some difficult topics to grapple, but definitely worth a watch if you're a fan of these complex, albeit bleak, dramas.