"In Memory of My Father" Offers Charm over Flash
In Memory of My Father is not the movie you think it is. No overstuffed elegy commemorating some two-dimensional ideal, the film instead tries to uncover the impact and repercussions of personal loss on a generation lacking the emotional maturity to handle just that.
Carried out in a documentary-like style, the movie begins with the wishes of a once famous, now retired film producer (David Austin), living out his final days in a Hollywood Hills mansion. Completely aware of his limited time, the producer bribes the youngest of his three sons, Chris (Christopher Jaymes), into documenting his own death and its effects on the rest of their family. What results is an intimate look at the dynamic of this industry household and the eccentric patriarch whose final request eventually enables the revelation of his family's suppressed struggles, vulnerabilities and need for love.
Jaymes, who aside from his role as Chris, is also the producer, director, writer and editor of In Memory of My Father wrote the script in just five days. Initially prompted by Austin to create a screenplay that could be filmed within an old mansion once belonging to Samuel Goldwyn, Jaymes later coupled his impression of the house with the image of a scene from a Luis Bunuei film to construct the heart of what would eventually take shape into In Memory of My Father.
Drawing from his own experiences with young Hollywood and operating with a specific group of actors already in mind, Jaymes molded his story to fit his cast and his setting.
"I knew the boundaries that I had to work within and that kind of set up the rules for me," said Jaymes.
A four-week rehearsal process familiarized the actors with the house that was to be the central setting of the film and also allowed for rewritings of the script, which was tailored to fit each cast member.
Said Jaymes, "Since I knew them [the cast] on a personal level, I knew what sorts of environments they shine the best in, so I constructed small environments that nurtured who they were as people and what was beautiful about them."
Shot entirely over a five-day period, the film's structure combines three storylines, each unfolding in a different area of the Samuel Goldwyn mansion.
Already a recipient of critical praise, In Memory of My Father was the first film to sell out both of its screenings during its world premiere at the CineVegas Film Festival in Las Vegas on the weekend of June 11. Jaymes describes the festival experience as surreal and amazing, because the film was being screened in front of an audience for the first time.
"There was roaring laughter and the crowd stayed until the very end, so long that I had to cut off the Q & A session."
Intimate and honest, Jaymes' film is a testament to the irresistible charm that character-driven affairs still possess in this day and age of flashy visuals and instant gratification.
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