Directed by: James Denton, Richard Oakes
Starring: Alyssa Haymor, James Denton, Saffron Spearman
Film Review by: Chris Buick
After managing to survive and escape a brutal kidnapping, Grace (Haymor) wakes up in a hospital bed, battered, beaten, and bruised, with no recollection whatsoever of how she got there, what happened to her, or even who she is.
For now, Grace is placed into witness protection, and the detective assigned to her case, Isaac (Denton), is desperate to help catch her abuser, but how? How do you catch a violent criminal when you don’t know who you’re looking for? Forgoing sleep and hygiene, and acting against the desperate advice of his friend and superior, Amanda (Spearman), Isaac puts everything into helping Grace recover. Slowly, the pieces of Grace’s mind and past begin to fall into place, and the bleak truth starts to reveal itself.
Remembrance works due to the simple fact that it has a clearly talented team behind it. Starting at the top, Denton is a gifted filmmaker and performer, seemingly able to turn their hand to any aspect of the filmmaking process they wish to.
Taking on the role of writer and co-director alongside Richard Oakes, not to mention also starring as the film’s lead detective Isaac, they never seem to put a foot wrong in any area. The script they’ve written, while not wholly original, is nonetheless compelling, authentic, and highly entertaining, doing more than enough to hopefully set itself apart from others bloating the genre.
It helps that the film maintains a perfectly moody atmosphere throughout. Oakes more than pulls his weight on cinematography duties by beautifully matching the visual composition to the characters’ mental states. We feel Grace’s struggle through a hazy, fuzzy lens, which contrasts sharply with the frantic, jumpy editing used to mirror Isaac’s intense frustration. Everything is shot with immaculate purpose to serve the story, rather than just for show. And special mention must go as well to Benjamin Symons’ score, which is always on point to complement and augment all these ideas into something really great.
Spearman also adds a great balance to the proceedings. Her authoritarian logic acts as a counterweight to Isaac’s darkening emotions as he loses himself more and more in the case, allowing her the opportunity to play between the lines of no-nonsense boss and concerned friend. However, the trickiest role to navigate belongs to Haymor. By never resorting to melodrama or overwrought emotion, Haymor allows Grace to grow from a helpless victim into a picture of strength and courage.
A strong and tense thriller, Remembrance could be a dark horse to watch out for when it hits streaming.
Remembrance is on UK digital 19 October from Reel2ReelFilms.