Peter Sarsgaard and Jessica Chastain star in Michel Franco’s Memory, a compelling story about a care worker reuniting with an old friend. Mexican filmmaker Franco returns with another complex drama to tell the story of Saul (Sarsgaard) and Sylvia (Chastain), two characters who walk down memory lane and grapple with their past.

Sylvia is a single mother who works as a social worker haunted by a dark past. During a high school reunion, a lingering figure follows her home, whom she later learns is Saul, a man suffering from early onset Dementia that causes his strange behavior and affects his memory. Sylvia remembers Paul from their high school days, and a carer-patient relationship starts to blossom between them. 

When Sarsgaard got the role of Saul, he aimed to portray dementia in a more positive light. Given the serious topic of mental illness, Memory could have easily been a thriller, but it takes a different route as it’s less of a self-pitying story and offers a unique point of view. Sarsgaard tells Variety, “Dementia is his condition, but it’s not his character. This is a guy who has a limited amount of time in his life, and he knows it. But he’s still quite viable throughout the movie. I liked that he was a positive person; he wasn’t just going to be some sad character in his bed at home.” 

Sarsgaard’s starring role was not a coincidence since it was Chastain who recommended Franco to Sarsgaard for the role of Saul. At the premiere of the Venice Film Festival, Sarsgaard earned the Volpi Cup for best actor in this limited-released film that went wide on January 5.