“Atom Egoyan adroitly directs Remember, a stripped-down drama built around a powerful and sometimes troubling performance by Christopher Plummer. Unusually working from another writer’s script, Egoyan strips away the usual self-referential layers of his cinema to offer a spare, to-the-point execution of what is essentially a one-hero drama.
“The film follows Zev Guttman, an elderly resident of a care home, who is having dementia issues following the death of his wife. Guttman and his family complete the traditional Jewish mourning ceremonies, and it’s now time for Zev to undertake a secret mission, as agreed with fellow resident Max Zucker. Zev only intermittently remembers exactly what’s going on, but Max has planned everything, and sends Zev on the road with a stack of money and a set of instructions, including the purchase of a gun.
“Zev’s quest is to track down a fugitive German camp commandant who is living in North America under the assumed name Rudy Kurlander. Zev duly visits a number of Rudy Kurlanders, one of whom (Bruno Ganz) believes that Hitler had the right idea but the wrong approach. Another Rudy is already dead, but Zev is welcomed into his house by the man’s affable state trooper son – the name of whose dog, Eva, is a clue to his political leanings. This is the film’s most gripping sequence, played with a streak of black comedy, and show-stealing support playing from Breaking Bad regular Dean Norris.
“Along the way, Zev’s determination is occasionally ruffled by such moments of truth, and by the painful realities of his decline, from memory loss to incontinence – but Plummer gives his beleaguered seeker dignity, charisma and vulnerability in astutely dosed measure.
“The climax packs a surprise. The film benefits from using its memory loss theme sparingly, rather than go the full nine miles.” - Screen Daily
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