A few friends recommended that I watch Memory of a Killer. So, during one of those lulls when “nothing is on,” I decided to check it out. With Patrick Dempsey, filming locations in Canada, and a compelling crime action story behind it, what could go wrong? The show, based on the 2003 Belgian film De Zaak Alzheimer as well as the 1985 novel of the same name, has an interesting premise. Angelo (Dempsey) is a contract killer living a double life as a family man, neither side aware of the other. Angelo yearns to get out of the business and focus on his family. But when tragedy strikes not once but twice, he has become numb to the emotional pain.
He’s also slowly noticing that he’s losing his memory. He’s aware that he’s likely suffering the same fate as his older brother Michael (Richard Clarkin) and dealing with early onset Alzheimer’s. The story works…sort of. But while I really wanted to like it, the crime drama is lackluster at best, lazy and predictable at worst.
Note: Spoilers for Episodes 1-4.
Memory of a Killer Misses the Mark
Memory of a Killer comes out guns blazing with its first episode. While I appreciate Dempsey’s attempt at shaking his usual “good guy” image, he doesn’t fit in the role. He’s unconvincing as a vicious, emotionless hitman. Yes, he has played the “bad guy” before, most recently in Dexter: Original Sin. But that role was meant to be unhinged once the truth was revealed, and it was exaggerated for dramatic effect. In this series, we’re supposed to believe that he executes someone one moment than throws on an apron to make dinner with his daughter like dad of the year the next. This type of role can be pulled off: Stephen Moyer does it brilliantly in the third season of The Night Agent as The Father, for example. Bryan Cranston nailed it as Walter White in Breaking Bad. Dempsey’s Angelo is not quite as refined.
Then there’s the story itself. We are supposed to believe that a man like Dutch (Michael Imperioli) who runs a criminal enterprise has not realized for 20+ years that Angelo is married and has a daughter. He knew nothing about the relationship, the wedding, the birth, raising this young girl into a woman, all while living close by? Dutch, a skilled criminal mob boss, presumably thinks Angelo is a lone wolf who goes home at night and throws back a few beers while watching TV until the next day rolls around. This fact is mentioned numerous times when Dutch insensitively reminds Angelo that he has nobody to go home to, no one else to worry about in his life. I don’t buy it. Dutch comes across as the type of man who will dot every “I” and cross every “T.” No matter how long and tight their friendship has been, there’s no way he doesn’t know. This might be the direction the plot is going. Even so, I still can’t reconcile that Angelo is arrogant enough to believe that he has successfully kept these two lives separate.
I don’t quite buy the young man from an abusive household turned contract killer angle either. While future episodes may dive deeper into how Angelo got into this business in the first place, I feel like it will only confuse matters more. It seems like the plot is leading to not only a reality where Dutch has known about Angelo’s family all along, but also where he did something to accelerate Michael’s symptoms to keep him from talking. He chose the care facility, after all, and they are likely drugging him. Further, Dutch likely had Angelo’s wife killed to remove the distraction from his number one contract killer’s job. As awful as that would be, it would at least explain non-sensical aspects of the plot. But the not-so-subtle hints leaning towards these realities weaken the suspense. This is the only logical explanation for the dynamic. So, while I’d be surprised if this isn’t what’s going on, it’s also disappointing if it is because it was so blatantly obvious to anyone but Angelo.
Other Characters Don’t Add Much
Even more ridiculously, we’re also supposed to accept as true that Angelo’s grown daughter and his now slain wife believed all along that he sells photocopiers. Yes, photocopiers. Somehow, this job keeps him so busy that he’s sometimes out all hours of the night (conferences, of course) selling outdated technology to businesses. It’s cliché and suggests his wife and daughter are terribly naïve. Sure, there are real-life stories of people living double lives with two families that never know of one another. But this set-up seems laughable.
In present day, Angelo’s daughter Maria (Odeya Rush) does indeed come across as naïve, clearly intentionally so to mak the plot more believable. The personality trait shows in both her blind belief of what her father does despite so many hints to suggest otherwise, and the interactions with her deeply annoying husband Jeff (Daniel David Stewart). Speaking of whom, testament to the actor who plays him because Jeff makes me cringe every time he’s on screen. Maria is soft in a way you would not expect Angelo’s daughter to be. That makes Angelo look like a worse person, not her look like a good one.
Other characters come and go (likely to return) to presumably add more. There’s Nicky (Michaela McManus), a night club owner and Angelo’s short-lived romantic interest who has ties to the mob. Linda (Gina Torres) is an FBI agent who seems to be the only person who suspects that Angelo is hiding something. The only character with promise is Joe (Richard Harmon), Dutch’s nephew who works as Angelo’s right-hand man in a Henry Hill from Goodfellas-type role.
The Memory Angle Reminds Me of Other Failed Shows
At the heart of the story is the angle about Angelo losing his memory. First, he’s forgetting simple things like the security code for his apartment. Then, he’s accidentally putting a gun in the fridge instead of the safe. Eventually, he starts having outright hallucinations. He has seen this before with his brother, so he knows early onset Alzheimer’s progresses quickly and there’s no cure. Thus, how could the show possibly continue beyond a single season?
I can see how Season 1 could shape up as Angelo’s two worlds start to collide. He’ll begin to forget certain parts of his life or say the wrong things to the wrong person. But I don’t see how this works any way other than a complete downfall. He can’t control the disease nor hide it for long, which leaves the entire show in limbo.
It reminds me of the short-lived show Next, which stars John Slattery as Paul, a former tech giant CEO who has become one of the most vocal AI dissenters. Like Angelo, he’s suffering from a debilitating disease. It’s a degenerative brain disease called fatal familial insomnia, and he knows he only has a few months to live. Despite the intriguing premise, Next was cancelled after a single season. Even if it wasn’t, the plot indicated an eventual demise for Paul, the lead character. That gave its original premise an expiration date.
More recently, there’s Countdown, the crime drama starring Jensen Ackles as LAPD detective Mark Meachum who joins a covert task force to help locate a dangerous murderer. His personal story involves secretly battling an aggressive brain tumor, which causes intense headaches and knocks him off his game from time to time. It’s terminal, but despite his doctor’s advice to find a beach and use as much relief medication as he can to live out his final days, he continues to work. This part of the story, which didn’t play any meaningful role in the plot, once again put a due date on the main character.
This strategy seems to have backfired in both those cases, fans unwilling to get on board with a show that confirms in its pilot episode that its main character likely won’t be around for a second season. The only way that happens is through some miraculous event or seriously slow-burn story that extends their life. Either way, it makes the angle even more unbelievable than it already was, or incredibly frustratingly and painfully drawn out.
Given this, I sadly predict that Memory of a Killer is going to suffer the same fate as Next and Countdown. Overall, the show is predictable, the plot wooden. How many times are we going to see Dutch frantically making pasta in the kitchen while Angelo visits him for his next assignment? Maria try to convince her father that her husband isn’t a flake when he very clearly is? Angelo kill someone in the most anti-climactic, emotionless way while either experiencing symptoms of his disease or haunted memories from his past?
Memory of a Killer is Fun, But Likely Won’t Last
If like me, you’re looking for something to watch because “nothing is on,” you’ll enjoy Memory of a Killer. There are some recognizable Ontario filming locations like the Upper Beaches, Leslieville, Trinity College, and Port Perry. But the Fox show likely won’t last beyond this season.
Aside from the premise giving Angelo a shelf life, it’s not gritty enough, not convincing enough to stand with other crime dramas. It’s trying to take itself seriously, but while Dempsey is a great actor, he’s no Moyer when it comes to portraying a layered contract killer. The story is unconvincing, too many plot holes to suggest it’s even remotely believable.
I really wanted to like Memory of a Killer considering the fantastic cast and the interesting premise, in the same way I really wanted to like Countdown. But like Countdown, the show falls flat. It’s trying to be something it’s not, presenting somewhere between a beefed up procedural and a dark and twisted drama without really falling comfortably into either. Knowing it was based on a movie, I can see how that format might work for the concept. But as an episodic series, it doesn’t make sense. As Angelo slowly loses his memory, so will fans their memory of this show.
Stream Memory of a Killer on Crave in Canada and Hulu in the U.S., and watch it on CTV in Canada and Fox in the U.S.