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Memory Review: Despite earnest performances, Liam Neeson's film 'forgets' to capitalise on an intriguing story
In Memory, Liam Neeson is terrific as an expert assassin struggling with Alzheimer's but the underdeveloped script rain on the Oscar-nominated actor's parade. Read Pinkvilla's review below.
Memory
Memory Cast: Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci
Memory Director: Martin Campbell
Memory Stars: 2.5/5
Liam Neeson in an action thriller, hell-bent on vengeance. Sounds familiar? That's basically the plot of every Liam Neeson box-office hit movie in the recent past and while Memory falls along the same lines, there is an intriguing element attached to the storyline, which tries to set the film apart from the previous "patent" genre entries. But is Memory a memorable-enough experience for moviegoers? Let's find out!
In Memory - which is a remake of the Belgian film The Memory of a Killer, based on Jef Geeraerts's novel De Zaak Alzheimer - Liam Neeson plays the bad guy Alex Lewis, an expert assassin on the verge of turning 70, but easily getting rid of targets like he's still in his prime. However, Alex's hamartia comes in the form of Alzheimer's, a literal death sentence for people of his profession, especially when he starts forgetting key details in the midst of a hitjob while his motor skills also become a steady problem. Wanting to retire, "too old for this s**t," Alex begrudgingly accepts an assignment, but when one of the targets turns out to be a teenage undocumented immigrant named Beatriz Leon (Mia Sanchez), the assassin refuses to complete the evil deed.
Hence, the predator becomes the one preyed upon, with Alex being hunted down since the entire assignment has ties to a Mexican child trafficking fiasco. In between all this mess is FBI agent Vincent Serra (Guy Pearce) - alongside his cohorts Linda Amistead (Taj Atwal) and Hugo Marquez (Harold Torres) - who is hot on the trail of cracking the trafficking case and feels a sense of protection towards Beatriz, who also happens to be the only known witness. With billionaire Davana Sealman's (Monica Bellucci) active involvement, Alex and Vincent (Lewis is always a few steps ahead of Serra since rules aren't a hindrance for the former!) become reluctant allies in trying to fight for justice and not let the bad-der guys win. Because even assassins have principles, you see!
At the forefront, Memory has all the tools to really bring a unique perspective to an overrated genre, especially when you have someone reliable like Liam Neeson shouldering the movie. An assassin suffering from memory loss opens multiple avenues for narrative experimentation, alas, Dario Scardapane's script is drastically underdeveloped and doesn't translate to anything other than ordinary. Liam Neeson is terrific in bringing to light the contradiction in Alex's personality, between a ruthless assassin and an aged man on the brink of complete forgetfulness. In the barely-there sequences, where we get an introspective take on Alex's downward spiral and emotional vulnerability is when Memory sparks the brightest. But limited character development stops us from really understanding Alex.
On the other hand, a brilliant actor like Guy Pearce - who coincidentally starred in a similar storyline in the brilliantly made Memento - is relegated to a stereotypical character, whose intentions are never justifiably explored. And by the time we get a semblance of why he is the way he is, it's a little too late and you're not invested enough to really care. Even though Guy has a charming quality that always enables a good performance even out of a bad script, you're left disappointed. The same goes for the misused supporting cast, with Monica Bellucci not even attempting to give two hoots about her caricaturish character or the plot.
In under two hours duration, what Martin Campbell-directed Memory deserves certain applause for is the well-thought-out action sequences, which surprisingly don't consume the plot like you'd expect from such a film. Nevertheless, the nasty, violent scenes are executed with a realistic touch, while David Tattersall's cinematography helps enables Alex's mental imbalance with a POV focus. A smartly shot sequence sees Alex murdering someone in cold blood, at a gym, while a woman on a treadmill, with her headphones on, has no clue of what's happening right beside her.
In finality, Memory is equipped with a terrific leading performance by Liam Neeson - who proves that he goes above a "very particular set of 'acting' skills" (You know I just had to add in a Taken pun!) in the movie - but "forgets" to capitalise on an appealing storyline.
