Critic’s Rating: 3/5
STORY: When a 13-year-old girl is killed by a sick prostitution ring along the US-Mexico border, contract killer Alex Louis (Liam Neeson), haunted by his morally bankrupt past, seeks redemption — and maybe a little more — from a sick prostitution ring. Her death puts big names and their reputations in jeopardy. This crime saga contains highlights from Liam Neeson’s entire career: it’s ‘not’ exceptional, but it’s too territorial even by his own standards. This crime saga has Liam Neeson’s entire career highlights sprinkled all over it: it’s ‘not’ exceptional, just too territorial even by his own standards. Adapted for the screen from the Belgian novel ‘De Zaak Alzheimer’ (Jan Decleir/ 2003), this crime saga has Liam Neeson’s entire career highlights sprinkled all over it: it’s ‘not’ exceptional, just too territorial even by his own standards.
REVIEW: Being old — with saggy skin, laboured breathing, and an awkward walk — and vulnerable on screen is feared by far more people than most realise. But not Liam Neeson, the Oscar-nominated actor who rose to prominence in neo-noir films such as the ‘Taken’ series and ‘Schindler’s List,’ among many others. As a result, Neeson may appear to have grown too comfortable with this subgenre, and his lack of eagerness to explore comes across as indolent at times.
Liam Neeson’s enigmatic Alex wants to leave his decades-long career as a professional hitman in Martin Campbell’s ‘Memory.’ “Men like us don’t retire,” his boss coos, making a half-hearted attempt to entice him back. He returns to work because he sees no other way out. The next victim, however, is a young girl, and his long-buried sense of righteousness erupts. “I don’t kill children.” “Ask the contract dogs to cancel it,” he says, his stone-cold eyes brimming with urgency. For the most part, Neeson plays a traditional action hero.
For lack of a better term, the actor’s “real work” begins when his newly discovered moral compass leads him to befriend three authority-bashing federal agents: the angst-ridden Vincent (Guy Pearce), Linda (Taj Atwal), and their unwelcome Mexican counterpart Hugo Marquez (Harold Torres). In the meek arms of genre veteran Liam Neeson, a man suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s seeks (and finds) solace. Despite the all-too-familiar soundtrack, this character-driven film has something its predecessors didn’t: a raw, vulnerable Hollywood star on the verge of retirement.
In terms of age-appropriate mannerisms, the orgasmic-toned Monica Belluci, as Davana Sealman, nails the adage of a corporate exec-turned-child trafficking ringleader. With her timid mein and darkly elegant wardrobe, the Italian Bella signora commands attention. Touché!
To be sure, all of those boiling filmmaking instincts — the cinematic high — that directors keep raving about in order to create a masterpiece out of a foreign tale have been brushed aside in Campbell’s ‘Memory.’ The little girl in question may have evoked a range of emotions in their hearts, but with little to no time spent with the child, it is difficult to stomach the quadruplet’s unwavering determination to avenge her death. Sure, the backstory provides a solid foundation for that level of mayhem to occur, but when has a film been made relevant solely on haphazard flashbacks?
‘Memory’ is a good reminder of Liam Neeson’s anti-hero-romanticism track, which he has glamorised in Hollywood over the years. In it, however, he allows decay and honesty to triumph over machismo. And that memory will live on in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
