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“I never over-direct them” — Director Michel Franco Talks Memory

The cast of Memory (2023)

Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard have a new film out — it’s called Memory. The film, from writer-director Michel Franco, tells the story of recovering alcoholic and abuse survivor Sylvia (Chastain) as she begins to care for and then date Saul (Sarsgaard) who has early onset Alzheimer’s. Together the two try to make sense of their situations and their connection. It’s a film all too rare, an adult drama that tackles difficult themes in a mature way. Franco, the film’s creator, sat down with FILMHOUNDS to discuss the film and its difficult themes.

The themes of this film… it’s a very serious film. It deals with sexual abuse, addiction, and dementia. How do you as a filmmaker create an environment where actors can feel safe while digging into these emotions?

I think it all starts with the script. When they read the script and they watch my work, then they can imagine where the thing is going. The script has to be cinematic, so it’s not only about all those things that happen, there has to be an approach. Looking at my other films can help show them where we’re going, and I think of actors as collaborators. I’m never imposing. If they’ve read the script, there shouldn’t be that many surprises. We talk a lot, I explain how I shoot, and how I work. Often they ask personal questions. They want to know why I wrote this. What’s my connection to the things I’m writing? But even without asking you can see on the page if it’s bullshit or from an honest place. If it comes from an honest place then things work out.

In terms of framing, a lot of the scenes play out in static shots that just let the actors do their thing. Is that a way of letting them dig into a performance without having to constantly cut and reset? For them to have to go back into those darker places?

It works that way, the way you’re describing, but it’s not the main reason. The main reason is that I was to do something that is more real, and more interesting, and I don’t like using every cinematic device to push the audience. A close-up, pretty much shooting whoever is speaking, then the music on top, and then a camera movement to tell you how you’re feeling. So, leaving the audience with no room to feel or think, telling them this is the only way to interpret. The way I work I try to surprise even myself. I don’t want to know what the actors will do exactly, and that’s interesting. They know they don’t have to match anything, every take is real, and sometimes I shoot the rehearsal. We don’t have rehearsals, so I shoot the rehearsals, and sometimes that’s the only take. If it’s fantastic why shoot it again? We might shoot it twenty times if it keeps evolving and we’re enjoying the process. We try to keep it real.

As both a writer and a director, you say about actors being collaborators. How much do actors like Chastain or Sarsgaard bring to the characters during the process?

It’s funny because if you ask them, especially Jessica, she would say “Everything was in the script, I just did what’s written,” but if you ask me, she took it herself and kept surprising me with every scene. It’s true she’s doing what’s written but she’s doing it in ways that I never would have imagined. I never over-direct them, I never tell them what to do, and the first thing when we’re figuring out the scene is I ask them what they think. Sometimes, I’m very surprised or even worried, but I trust them. They’re often right. Jessica and Peter understand every aspect of filmmaking, they’re not just acting, they understand how to play with the camera. They also understand my cinema, so we’re collaborating in many ways.

How do you balance the story of a woman who has been sexually abused, and addressing that head, without it becoming exploitative? The confrontation with her mother could have very easily fallen into exploitation with details, and you don’t fall into that. How do you balance not trivialising it but addressing it?

It’s a good question because it’s all about finding that balance. It’s not a matter of taste, it’s a matter of keeping it real and respecting the actors and the audience. Again, it’s a matter of not using the cinematic devices in a straightforward way. So, in this case, it’s a master shot, there are some cuts, we arrive with Jessica, and we cut to the mother, so it sets the tone for the rest of the scene. At the end, I do stay with the mother because, for most of the scene, she’s shown from the back. That doesn’t mean she’s playing less, it’s more powerful. I trust the audience to make the best out of those elements. If you’ve been, and I think all have our share of drama in our lives, you can’t escape it. It should mirror those moments. It should feel like it and not a TV series. It should be real.

Similarly with Sarsgaard’s character, it raises the question about coddling or babying a person with a degenerative brain illness, do you think there’s a tendency for relatives to become too protective? His brother, at times, treats him like a child as opposed to an adult.

It’s asphyxiating but I always find the loved ones and family dynamics — because you love someone – you say “Don’t gamble, don’t go out, don’t date, don’t risk,” I understand the brother. He means well, he loves his brother. So when he hires someone and they have a romance it’s unacceptable! Good drama should be when every character in the room is right, and nobody’s wrong, so the conflict is massive because of the points of view. I find it sad that often the answer is don’t gamble because then you’re not alive anymore. That’s why I decided to write Saul in the early stages of the illness when they don’t know how to deal with it. It’s also very unpredictable, you don’t know how it’s going to progress.

There’s one particular scene with Sylvia’s family, her nieces and nephews, asking about her addiction, and why she can’t drink. The brother-in-law keeps shutting down the conversation. Personally, do you think it’s an important conversation to have with teenagers about addiction, and self-destructive behaviour when they’re at that age? 

Absolutely, I don’t think it’s the film’s responsibility to educate but while doing a film you can provide a complex, real, answer.  That’s a very clear example, of course, they should be talking to the kids, even the little one. I always believe that things should be talked about openly. But, the way alcohol and drugs are portrayed in cinema, instead of helping audiences are doing the opposite. And you know, I love Bukowski, I’m not against drinking, but you know Bukowski, he was a clever writer who would understand what he was doing and why he was doing it. So, that’s interesting for a reader. But, to get back to your question, definitely, teenagers and kids should know about these things.

Finally, in terms of the landscape of cinema and of film, is there a worry that there isn’t a landscape for a small drama like Memory when the cinemas are filled up with big franchise films? Is there a worry that adult drama will become a thing of the past?

I believe there are always sophisticated people and smart audiences. I’m not saying my work is sophisticated! But, I try to make entertaining movies that are, at the same time, something of my own. I premiere them at big festivals like Venice, and then they hit cinemas. The audiences will find them. It is challenging, but I don’t believe in the death of films that are not solely trying to entertain in a silly way. Films that I wouldn’t even call cinema, they’re just nonsense. In many many cases. This is what I do, and actors like Jessica Chastain who are also acting in massive movies with extremely big budgets are also interested in working on things like this.

MEMORY is in UK and Irish cinemas from 23rd February memoryfilm.uk