Memory of a Killer Movie☆☆☆☆

Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Odeya Rush, Richard Harmon, Daniel David Stewart and Michael Imperioli

Created by: Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone

ction thrillers, particularly those about assassins and hitmen, almost always find a dedicated fan base. The stakes, choreography and complexity of characters that the genre allows for mean that several aspects can intrigue audiences. From John Wick to Mr. and Mrs. Smith to The Night Manager, there are countless examples of great thrillers to choose from. The true challenge of such films and TV shows is to find something that separates them from all the rest, as the aforementioned examples do through either a stylised world, the relationship between two assassins or following a humble hotel manager as he delves deeper into a murky world. That is the challenge that Memory of a Killer faces and its method of focusing on a hitman who is developing Alzheimer’s succeeds extraordinarily well at adding a new sheen to well-established tropes of criminals trying to keep their personal and illegal dealings separate.

Memory of a Killer uses the memory loss of its main character, Angelo (Patrick Dempsey), to keep the audience in an almost permanent state of paranoia. Dempsey is given every opportunity to shine as the calm, cool and collected Angelo, who slowly loses control as his worlds begin to collide, with his best scenes opposite The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli.

This 10-episode series follows Dempsey’s Angelo, a contract killer who is now a veteran of the industry, working for his well-connected friend, Dutch (Imperioli). However, Memory of a Killer first introduces the audience to Angelo through the lens of his personal world, where, for all his pregnant daughter, Maria (Odeya Rush), knows, he is merely a photocopier salesman. The settings and scenes that Memory of a Killer uses to separate the two worlds do a lot of the heavy lifting to convey how successful Angelo has been at keeping his two lives apart up until this point. When he is with his daughter, he is dressed in typical trousers and often a Gillet and is in suburban settings, even dropping off Maria at school, where she teaches, to show just how unassuming he is. When it is time for him to transition into assassin mode, Memory of a Killer takes its time to establish the switch, showing Angelo driving to an abandoned garage, ditching his clothes and sensible silver car, before donning an entirely black, designer suit and an all-black Porsche and heading into New York City, where the establishing shots of skyscrapers convey the differing scales of stakes.

At first, everything seems normal or at least as normal as things can be for a hitman, as one of his assassinations of an Asian crime boss goes off without much issue for Angelo, including a fight scene that, like the rest of the action in the show, is dynamic, showing how it is rarely an easy kill for Angelo, but his skills are always enough to get the job done. However, as his memory starts to fade, beginning with small things such as forgetting a code for his apartment or leaving his bag outside his door, his two worlds quickly begin to collide.

Not only does Angelo struggle to keep secrets from Maria, leaving behind a jacket at her house in Episode 2, that contains a clue as to his double life, but his family life is invaded by mysterious forces who seemingly seek revenge for a past assassination that Angelo carried out on Dutch’s orders. This not only threatens Angelo, but takes an even more personal angle when Maria is targeted for a shooting and with Angelo’s wife’s murderer, Earl Hancock (Ian Matthews), being released from prison the same week of the shooting, it truly seems like Angelo could be facing attacks on multiple different fronts.

Memory of a Killer uses this mystery, along with Angelo’s memory problems, to keep the viewer paranoid throughout each episode. The very first scene, a discussion between Angelo, Maria and Maria’s partner, Jeff (Daniel David Stewart), focuses on what Angelo is remembering and forgetting, such as appointments and other aspects of his daughter’s life, the audience is left to wonder how long these issues have been plaguing the hitman. Since Memory of a Killer is almost entirely from Angelo’s perspective, it becomes harder to determine what he is forgetting. The editing plays a key role in visually showing the dissonance. When Angelo forgets his jacket, there is no shot of him walking out without it. Instead, the audience feels the same forgetfulness as Angelo when Jeff finds the coat.

Whenever there are two senior characters in a world where hierarchy intensely matters, the scenes between these two can often be the best in the show. Scenes between Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) and Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) in Game of Thrones, or the infamous meeting between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s characters in Heat, exemplify the fireworks that can be unleashed when two titans collide.

In Memory of a Killer, it is the scenes between Dempsey’s Angelo and Imperioli’s Dutch that similarly produce such quality, as the actors bring out different sides to their characters when they interact.

Dempsey typically plays Angelo as intensely calm and reassuring, wearing a polite smile whenever he is with his daughter or conversing with people. Even when he is being chased by someone in a pick-up truck and we cut to him pulling off manoeuvres in his car around concrete corners, he barely flinches, highlighting how skilled he is. Yet, when he is with Dutch, there is a relaxation about Angelo that Dempsey conveys through his physical presence and body language. It shows how close the two men are and puts them on equal footing, making their boss-worker dynamic feel at odds with their friendship.

On the other hand, Imperioli gets to show off parts of what made him so good in The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti. His front as a restaurant owner places Dutch in his kingdom and Imperioli’s constantly peering eyes and swaggering shoulders portray him as someone who is in control of everything in his orbit and is constantly weighing the pros and cons of every situation. Yet, when Dutch and Angelo are together, they laugh with each other in a way neither does at any other point in the show. This allows both Dempsey and Imperioli to show the natural chemistry between them, which makes it feel like you are watching two old friends. When these two disagree over something, it’s clear that the threat of Angelo losing his connection with Dutch is far more threatening than the violence he faces.

Overall, Memory of a Killer is a show that few will be able to criticise. Yes, the editing can at times feel ambiguous, but these moments are so few and far between that they are quite easy to move past and even embrace. When that small imperfection is measured against Dempsey’s performance, which gives away just enough to convince you he’s a seasoned hitman, along with the constantly twisting plot and enjoyable action, the qualities far outweigh any negatives. In the end, Memory of a Killer is a stand-out action thriller that is perfect for anyone looking for a new twist on a familiar story.

– Courtesy: Collider.com

Rating system: *Not on your life * ½ If you really must waste your time ** Hardly worth the bother ** ½ Okay for a slow afternoon only *** Good enough for a look see *** ½ Recommended viewing **** Don’t miss it **** ½ Almost perfect ***** Perfection