Russell Crowe manages to distance this black crime television, focused on memory and identity, from any possible easy jokes about the intersection of its achievements and its themes.
The actor manages to shine once again and his hypnotic presence on screen It doesn’t even seem to be affected by this fraying yellow where you literally have to take care of everything.
Russel plays the role of Roy Freeman, an alcoholic ex-cop who suffers from Alzheimer’s and has undergone an experimental magical operation that essentially makes the disease appear or disappear without a trace, depending on the needs of the plot.
Russell Crowe in “Memories of Death”. press photoThe surgery also leaves two conspicuous scars on his menacing bald head, which contrasts with his thick Christmas beard to convey depression at first glance.
The story of the protagonist
Roy has a house full of notes fundamental to everyday life, such as his name in front of the mirror or how to make toast, in one of the many obvious links with I rememberby Christopher Nolan, of which deadly memories It looks, at least in terms of quality, like his forehand.
Memory becomes the great key to solving a crime against time after Freeman is summoned by a man condemned to death, arrested by himself, who declares himself innocent.
deadly memories He asks the forgetful Roy to relearn the police job he was forced to abandon after an accident before his illness manifested itself.
The always necessary fatal woman of the do not go It doesn’t take long for her to appear, in her most elusive version, but always escorted by a handful of crime suspects, from the victim’s assistant to the detective who accompanied Roy during the investigation.
Crowe tacitly conveys Freeman’s perplexity as he finds each of the mistakes made during the case, which he revisits in search of some incipient memory. Not even a stereotypical relapse into alcoholism can compromise the actor’s extraordinary performance.
The director is not up to par
Newcomer Adam Cooper uses many of the dark tones and atmospheres of crime film noir, but can’t keep up in a film that suffers from the multiple points of view, and resulting aesthetic changes, used to put the reconstruction of memory into images .
The number of key inconsistencies that are overlooked in the plot of deadly memoriesbeyond the logical fragility of what is remembered, they attract attention by accumulating the debut of someone who worked in the industry as a screenwriter and made his first film based on a novel.
The director goes to the letter, without blushing, showing Crowe slowly putting together a puzzle over the course of the film or underlining, every time he manages to force it into the story, that the mind hides traumatic experiences.
Cooper shows some restraint by revealing, in the final twist that gives Roy’s mental wanderings, the different roles of the characters during the crime, but at that point it matters little who is responsible for the murder.
File
“Deadly Memories” (Sleeping Dogs)
Qualification: Bad. Police. United States, 2024, 110′. SAM13.
From: Adam Cooper. With: Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Márton Csókás, Thomas M. Wright, Harry Greenwood. Rooms: Hoyts Abasto, Cinépolis Recoleta, Multiplex Belgrano, Cinemark Palermo.
Source: Clarin
