Remember Us

Kaitlyn Boxall’s debut feature Remember Us portrays a moving, life-changing friendship that spans generations and defies illness. It’s an impressively shot and emotional film that is at its best during patient and downplayed moments that hone in on the heart of its layered characters, and where it contemplates what responsibility, masculinity and respect really mean.

Tearaway youth Lucas (Feisal Bizimana) is caught up in petty crime and receives a community service order that sees him deliver food parcels with his supervisor Steve (Frank Harper). Disillusioned with his friends who drag him into trouble, Lucas finds purpose in his community work, especially when it puts him into contact with Arthur Miller (Rob Trend), a dementia sufferer who was once a football player. Lucas builds a friendship with Arthur, going beyond his mandated responsibilities to make the old man’s life a little fuller. But when his old life endangers his new one, Lucas is presented with a decision that tests what kind of man he wants to be.

The biggest success of Remember Us is the convincing and touching central relationship between Lucas and Arthur. The film takes its time first unravelling Lucas’ character – building the young man as someone with a conscience and who strives for a better life than the one he has drawn, albeit one who has also made bad decisions. His first interactions with Arthur are spiky, but his sensitivity takes over when he finds Arthur in distress. The bond between the two grows as Lucas recognises Arthur as another isolated, lonely soul, and he takes it upon himself to act as both a carer and a friend. Arthur in turn is lucid enough to recognise the same yearning in Lucas, and provides him with fatherly advice that Lucas has never had in his home life.

It becomes clear throughout the film that Lucas’ life is being torn in two, and that a conflict between the warring halves is inevitable. Lucas is an amiable enough character that viewers enjoy exploring these two sides of him – the wannabe gangster who emanates a hard shell, and the caring young man who proactively helps out a man forgotten by the rest of the world. We see complexity in both these worlds – his friendly, cheery mate George (Micheal John-Day) is a likeable and positive personality who Lucas cares for, but he circles unsavoury characters at the same time. Meanwhile supervisor Steve is a gruff, hardass who takes joy at times in speaking down to Lucas – yet tries to steer him on the right path. These complex personalities help create a believable dilemma for Lucas, and the audience can empathise with his conundrum over whether to abandon his friends.

Unfortunately, the narrative crumbles under its own weight in the final third of the film. The aforementioned choice presented with Lucas leads to a brutal consequence. However the actions of the police, Arthur’s family and Lucas himself make little sense in the aftermath. It’s difficult to reconcile Lucas’ actions when dealing with the police, or the fact that he is able to present himself to Arthur afterwards. We get little proper conclusion beyond a hint at redemption for Lucas and a possible reunion between the pair. However the level of brutality inflicted on Arthur means viewers will struggle to really be convinced that the story has the happy ending the filmmakers commit to.

It's a shame that the story comes off the rails, as prior to this the film had been built carefully and patiently with the promise of developed conflict and conclusion. The viewer may feel short-changed coming away. Yet viewed as a whole, there is still a lot to admire in this film – especially for a feature-length debut. The relationship at its heart, and the lessons that come from it are the prime accomplishment, and should be what the audience remembers.