A symbiotic creative collaboration between British filmmaker Grant Gee and Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, Innocence of Memories is a beguiling, meditative study of the indelible link between memory and identity, and the transformative power of love.
It’s a testament to the strength of his talent and vision that David O’Russell is readily regarded as one of today’s greatest filmmakers, despite the fact that he has made just seven films – discounting the disowned Accidental Love – in the past two decades. With topics ranging from the opportunities of war (Three Kings) to blue-collar boxing (The Fighter) and the exquisite art of the con (American Hustle), O’Russell’s screenplays demonstrate a colour and eloquence that are expertly serviced by his masterful direction. It’s an exemplary body of work that sets a very high bar; one which his latest, screwball drama Joy, struggles to reach.
Sitting on a plastic chair in the middle of a bare room, dressed in a simple blue shirt, Nick Yarris faces the lens and tells his life story. The camera remains closely framed on his face as he speaks, only cutting away for short dramatisations of the experiences he is describing. And dramatic they most certainly are, as Yarris spent over 20 years of his life on death row after being convicted of rape and murder in 1981, during which time he unwaveringly maintained his innocence.
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