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Michel Franco, a well-known Mexican filmmaker known for his cold and calculated dramas, often featuring static scenes, has created another intricate and emotionally charged movie. At the Venice Film Festival, lead actor Peter Sarsgaard was awarded the Volpi Cup for his performance. The film delves into the themes of abuse, violence, recovery, and the healing power of sexual intimacy, while also exploring the concept of memory and how it shapes our identity over time. However, memory is a fragile foundation that can both support and crush us, and it is not always an accurate reflection of the truth. Therefore, attempts to deny or suppress it should not be seen as dishonest or delusional.
This film shares the same sharpness as Franco’s previous works, featuring two brilliant performances by the leads. However, it also has a more heartwarming and soothing ending, making one question if the pill has been coated with sugar. Some viewers, like myself, may even hope for a dramatic twist in the final act. Yet, Franco’s decision to focus on the messy and unpredictable nature of life is completely valid.
Jessica Chastain portrays Sylvia, a social worker and single mother to her intelligent daughter Anna (played by Brooke Timber). Despite being a recovering alcoholic for 13 years, the same amount of time her daughter has been alive, she never reveals her reasons for becoming an alcoholic. It is unclear if she has shared this information with her AA group. Her role as a care worker has parallels to Franco’s previous film, Chronic, which depicts the intense and almost intimate connection between worker and patient.
Chastain plays Sylvia as someone displaying the tough self-reliance of a survivor, but highly strung, with an anger and pain that is only just being kept beneath the surface. Her home is in a tough part of Brooklyn in New York; she has a reasonably good relationship with her more comfortably-off sister, Olivia (Merritt Wever), but is utterly estranged from her overbearing mother, Samantha, a powerfully toxic performance from Jessica Harper.
Despite her reservations, Sylvia attends her high school reunion and is immediately confronted with a disturbing encounter. A disheveled man named Saul (played by Peter Sarsgaard) approaches her without speaking, wearing a strange, vacant smile. Feeling uncomfortable, Sylvia decides to leave and the man follows her home. She learns that his name is Saul and he is suffering from early onset dementia, living with his brother Isaac (Josh Charles) who is his caregiver. Apologetic Isaac blames Saul’s inappropriate behavior on his condition, but Sylvia remembers him from their school days. She offers to care for him one afternoon and confronts him about the memories she has of him and other boys mistreating her.
Confused and scared, Saul cannot recall the offer. However, when Isaac presents Sylvia with a highly profitable opportunity to care for Saul – who seems to have developed a fondness for her in his gentle and timid manner – she agrees and their bond seems to offer an escape from her misery. Yet, this is not a tale of horror like that of the Night Porter. The past is unpredictable and so is the present. We are already aware that, like many individuals with dementia, Saul struggles to remember recent events but not those from the distant past. Is it possible that Sylvia is the one with memory issues? In any case, their caregiver-patient relationship continues to evolve.
Instead of following the typical thriller formula, Franco takes a different approach. He aims to showcase something truly positive and sincere, while still acknowledging the potential dangers that Saul faces due to his condition. An example of this is when Saul stays over at Sylvia’s house and struggles to remember which door leads to her room and which to Anna’s. This moment creates a sense of intense fear and suspense. Overall, the story is captivating and the actors, Chastain and Sarsgaard, deliver exceptional performances with grace and maturity.
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Source: theguardian.com
