_{By: Amanda Guarragi}

Memories come in fragments and are almost always tied to one of the senses. What humans feel when they look, smell, or hear something can transport the mind back to a specific moment in a flash. For some, moments like that can be peaceful and, to others, triggering. Those fragments make up a new memory, even ones that have been subconsciously locked away. Writer-director Michel Franco places two characters together who have struggled with their mind and, in a way, begin to heal each other of their trauma. Sylvia (Jessica Chastain) and Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) have both lost a sense of their identity, and their relationship flourishes because of what they share. Companionship and human connection can go a long way in mending broken pieces of one’s soul. 

Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life. She is compassionate and kind towards the people in her care. When we meet Sylvia, she’s reserved, closed-off and soft-spoken. She has a teen daughter seeking a boyfriend, and Sylvia is having difficulty accepting that. In this case, Sylvia’s past haunts her because of the sexual abuse she faced growing up. So, to protect her daughter, she becomes strict and doesn’t allow her to be in environments where things can go wrong. Many women who have experienced sexual trauma have tried to cope with the memory of those moments. Sylvie had turned to alcohol during a dark period of her life, and after her daughter was born, she knew she had to turn her life around. After being sober for most of her daughter’s life, this chapter is celebrated but also challenged when she meets Saul. 

Saul meets Sylvia at their high school reunion, which Sylvia does not want to attend in the first place. Here, Saul is intoxicated and innocently sits beside Sylvia. As he sits, Sylvia slides away and walks out of the reunion. Saul stalks her as she gets to the train station, and you can feel Sylvia’s anxiety. Once Sylvia makes it home, she sees Saul waiting outside her window as the rain pours down on him. And because of her past experiences, she doesn’t let him in. The next day, she sees that Saul has passed out on the garbage bags near the building and calls for help. His son informs Sylvia that Saul has dementia and has bouts of hyperfixation. Saul can remember things that happened years ago but will forget what happens short-term unless there is some form of routine. Saul is a sweet man detached from his body because his mind is elsewhere. 

Michel Franco places these two characters together for an analysis on memories. The turning point comes early on in the film, which challenges the pieces of one’s memory. Sylvia expresses her sexual trauma with Saul and blames him for being complicit in the acts his best friend would engage in with her in high school. Sylvia blames Saul even though he doesn’t remember anything from that period. Franco explores what memories are made up of and if the fragments are placed correctly in our minds. How much do we remember? What flashes appear at random when we least expect it? Where are they from? From one conversation between Saul and Sylvia, these questions arise as you watch their relationship unravel. Saul is genuinely happy to be around a woman again, someone who looks very much like his former wife. Sylvia is battling through her trauma and trying to understand why she blamed Saul in the first place. 

Memory is a character-driven piece with two incredible performances from Chastain and Sarsgaard. Both characters are broken, and they are rebuilding their lives and their minds. Franco sets both characters to complement one another. Sylvia’s traumatizing past doesn’t define her, while Saul’s present condition doesn’t define him either. They are still two people battling with who they are and are the only one’s who understand each other. What haunts Sylvia is her past self, and what haunts Saul is his future. They both meet at a crossroads where they need a companion to treat them as human beings. Saul’s dementia places him in dangerous situations without realizing he’s doing it. And it can make it difficult for anyone to watch him. Franco shows that these two characters are trapped in their lives, and being in this relationship with one another is their way out.