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[tab title="Movie Review"]
Maybe it’s the binge watching I’ve done of Twin Peaks: The Return recently. Maybe it’s the anxiety I have of driving at night. Regardless of the why, there is a smooth seduction to the beginning of Rememory which reminds me of just how powerful headlights slicing through the darkness of night can be on film. Like the white rays of a blinding torch leading the way, there is strict significance to car beams providing a guiding light…and a warning of the dangers ahead.
This is how writer/director Mark Palansky and co-writer Michael Vukadinovich open their movie. And, truthfully, there is an aspect of David Lynch and Mark Frost to the darker undertones of this science fiction-minded thriller about the theft and repurposing of a machine that can extract your memories and allow them to be viewed by complete strangers. It’s a dark tale that manages to unmute some sympathetic reactions that are somewhat unexpected.
Sam Bloom (Peter Dinklage) goes from enjoying The National with his soon to be dead rock-star brother (Matt Ellis) as they drive through a dense night to trying to solve the murder of inventor Gordon Dunn (Martin Donovan) by way of his memory machine. Honestly, Dinklage might be the only actor expressive enough to carry the weight of other people’s memories and make their impact upon a complete stranger of significance.
Much of Rememory is, in some way, an expression of memories. Go figure. To suggest it is random; however, is a disservice to its methods and the talents of its cast, which includes Martin Donovan, Anton Yelchin (in one of his final appearances), and Henry Ian Cusick. Whether or not it is successful in communicating the ultimate meaning is another matter entirely. But I won’t fault the film for its efforts to create a damn memorable whodunit.
You see, Dunn has been murdered and Sam feels all sorts of grief that he cannot remember the last words his brother said to him at the scene of the car accident. These two situations combine, as well as a group of suspects, to form an alignment of sorts that can be best explained by the use of the technology at the center of the film. And so Sam stalks the inventor, witnesses an argument he has with Wendy (Evelyne Brochu) about the use of her memories, and decides to befriend the Dunn’s now-grieving widow (Julia Ormand) in order to whisk the rememory device away.
Just like that dark car ride through the night at the film’s start, this movie is a twisting journey through the technological advances of our society. Literally. Repercussions that maybe we aren’t prepared to deal with are hinted at. Just like the moments of our collective past. Deal or dwell. Either way, we die. But what will you remember?
And yet the film is not comfortable to just rest there. It plows forward and operates as, above everything else, a b-grade murder mystery thanks to the science fiction surroundings. It just has a philosophical slant in its frame that makes it start and stall as memories are extracted. All of this is guided by composer Gregory Tripi's pulsating electronic score and Grgoruy Middleton's expressive camera lens.
If intellectual conversations bore you, this might not be the film for you. If the beauty of the most basic of moments zip by you without a second thought, then Rememory is DEFINITELY not for you. Thoughts of grief are stroked incessantly in this thriller. I mean, come on, Dinklage as philosophical sleuth? Sign me up.
With a strong sense of itself, Rememory finds meaning in the wreckage of this life. Buckle up.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: PG - 13 for bloody accident images, some violence, thematic material and brief strong language
Runtime: 111 mins
Director: Mark Palansky
Writer: Mark Palansky, Mike Vukadinovich
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Matt Ellis, Jordana Largy
Genre: Mystery
Tagline: We are nothing more than the memories we keep.
Memorable Movie Quote: "This device extracts the actual memory from your brain."
Theatrical Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere
Official Site:
Release Date: September 28, 2017
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available
Synopsis: The widow of a wise professor stumbles upon one of his inventions that's able to record and play a person's memory.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
No details available.
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[tab title="Trailer"]
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[tab title="Art"]
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