Wonderful Movie

Fresh and Exciting

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

You might not want to watch "Marjorie Prime" if you're either sleepy or grumpy. It's a slow, cerebral, and very melancholy film. But it's also thought provoking and satisfying in the way that well told stories about death and loss can be.Set in a near future, it tells the story of three family members -- a mother, her daughter, and the daughter's husband -- who deal with the grief of losing their loved ones by communing with virtual reality recreations of them. It's based on a play, and it shows; the film isn't especially cinematic, and it might test the patience of viewers who want more from a movie than a succession of lengthy mostly two-character dialogues. But it's superbly acted, and it raises questions about the nature of memory that are fun to ponder. The film suggests that our memories already manufacture virtual realities around the events we've already lived through, and that the idea of some day being able to have conversations with versions of those we've loved won't be that different from sifting through the memories of them that we have available to us now.Lois Smith gives an award worthy performance as the matriarch who kicks off the film and who we see in the first scene chatting with her dead husband, played by Jon Hamm. Geena Davis plays her daughter, and Tim Robbins her son-in-law. All four actors are superb. A final scene, that finds the three virtual reality creations free from their owners and having a conversation between themselves, is especially haunting.Grade: A-

The film is clearly a play adaptation. There are only a few actors in static sets, mostly talking to each other, while other details are scarce. It wasn't a surprise when I saw at the end that it was based on a play that won a Pulitzer award, because I really liked it. However, you need to be in the right mood to feel it, and maybe understand a little bit the technology that it describes. The subject of the film is a holographic AI technology that can bring the appearance of people into your house. They start empty at first, but as you tell them more and more about "themselves", they start behaving like the real people. This is described mostly in the context of grief for dead ones, but it's the same technology featured in the new Blade Runner. With its slow, dialogue based, pace, the film explores the nature of memory, the difference between how we are and how others see us and ultimately our own sense of identity. The crown of the movie is the end scene, where "Primes", holographic duplicates of people now long gone, converse with each other, showing how different the people they are emulating were from the way other described them. It was a very refreshing film, even if the mood was so gray and timeless that my wife could not or would not let herself be drawn into it. After all, it is all character based, the sets and even the various details of people's life are completely irrelevant. The acting was top notch, with basically four or five people in total that mattered. The music is classical, almost requiem like, hinting at the moment when we are all passed and replaced by the memories others have of us. I was torn between giving it top grade or not. I've decided that it was not a perfect movie. What bothered me most was the lack of communication between the different AIs, when that is specifically described in the beginning. In trying to make it a humanist story, they neglected the actual workings of the tech behind it. I understand why they did it, but it still bothered me. The acting was very good, but sometimes flickered. The pace was slow enough to fall into the illusion that the movie would go on forever, automatically generated by my TV. It very well could have. What I liked about it was the solid intellectual stance on the subject. It doesn't try to be overly subtle, but it is unapologetically smart. It's not one of those "oh, you missed that scene and you are too stupid to get it" things, it is clear cut but intelligently made. I also liked the underlying theme that we are not our memories and clinging to them other than to build our present life on is pointless and potentially harmful. I recommend this film to just about everybody smart, but have the time and leisure to watch it. A nice quiet evening alone or with people close to you, with a glass of something, sounds perfect to me.

If you like great theatre, which is more about great dramatic performances than about special effects and soundtracks, you'll have to appreciate this film, as it features what may be the greatest dramatic performances by Geena Davis and Tim Robbins to date, and brilliant work by Lois Smith and Jon Hamm that does not deserve to go unnoticed.The very original writing delves into the human experience, into aging, and into the role technology will likely increasingly play in the human experience.I have a feeling that this is one of those films that will go under-noticed and under-appreciated, but will some day receive a lot of attention for it's prophetic technological implications.For anyone who has ever suffered a profound loss, this film may have special meaning, beyond the introspective insight that it's likely to inspire in any human being. The story is at times funny, curious, and also sad, without relying on cheap underinvested plot devices or well-timed musical themes to trigger emotional responses.

Wow, I just saw this film at the San Francisco Film Festival and it blew my mind, as we used to say. Very powerful story that sneaks up on you and by the end takes you further than you thought it would at the beginning. Intense if you have experienced deaths in the family or just aging and loss of memory. Some people in the audience openly sobbing or sniffling by the end. Takes you on an almost psychedelic mental journey, if you are open to it and allow yourself to contemplate your own relationships. Felt therapeutic and mind-altering. I was definitely in an altered state as I stumbled out of the theater. The future felt close at hand....I'm still a bit stunned as I write this. Kudos to the writer/director and all the actors.