The Memory of A Killer

The Memory of A Killer (The Alzheimer Case)"”the third feature film from Flemish director Erik Van Looy"”begs to ask the question "Does a killer have a conscience?" In a word, yes, but under what circumstances?" is the question that is never really answered after the crafty one hundred and twenty minute political drama comes to a terminus. Based on the novel written by the acclaimed Flemish writer Jef Geeraerts, the film never fully explains all the rules to the game before challenging the audience to keep up with its fast paced, razor sharp game of wits, but despite the lack of fair warning the 35mm chess match that plays out has more appeal and is as accessible as many of its American counterparts.

Angelo Ledda (acclaimed actor Jon Decleir) is an international hit man who is on the brink of retirement; unknown to his colleagues, however, he is also experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer's. The opening of the film has Ledda sharing a meal with his friend and employer Gilles (Patrick Descamps). Gilles senses something is awry with his friend as he twice orders butter for his baguette, but considers it a fleeting thought, so much that he convinces Ledda to stick around for one more job. He reluctantly agrees and flies to Belgium, a city he admittedly loathes, to dispose of two targets; when he discovers one of them is a twelve year old girl, he breaks his contract with Gilles and is suddenly amidst a flurry of bullets, dead bodies and moral regret. Chasing after Ledda are detectives Eric Vincke (Koen De Bouw) and Freddy Verstuyft (Werner De Smedt), two opposites that share a passion for their thankless job. Vincke is your typical straightedge leader who mentors a much younger Verstuyft, the proverbial hothead with a "shoot now, ask questions later" attitude. Together the two try to sort out a mess that has Ledda linked to the murder of the twelve year old, the high Baron Gustave De Haeck's son and his friend and former colleague Gilles.

Through a number of flashbacks and shaky jump cuts director Erik Van Looy tries to tell lay the foundation of Ledda's past and portray his present, albeit scrambled thoughts. Ledda is a seasoned killer but at times looks downright befuddled when in the middle of trying to take out his targets; the result is a worn down old man who is trying to fight a battle against himself. The cat and mouse game that Ledda plays with detectives Vincke and Verstuyft is one that we have seen before, and the two serve more as stock characters that populate many of TV's primetime, lacking the complexity that an anti-hero like Ledda brings to the screen. If it wasn't for the sharp acting by

Jon Decleir and the complex script that Van Looy pens, The Memory of A Killer might be one that you could easily remember to forget.

Movie Grade: C