''Marjorie Prime'' is a 2017 American
science-fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...
film written and directed by
Michael Almereyda
Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He studied art history at Harvard University but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on the strengt ...
, based on
Jordan Harrison
Jordan Harrison (born 1977) is an American playwright. He grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington. His play ''Marjorie Prime'' was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Biography
Harrison received a B.A. from Stanford University in ...
's play of the same name. It stars
Jon Hamm
Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and tw ...
,
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...
,
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Davis made her acting debut in the satirical romantic comedy ''Toots ...
, and
Lois Smith
Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans 7 decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including '' ...
. Footage was screened for buyers at the
66th Berlin International Film Festival
The 66th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2016, with American actress Meryl Streep as the president of the jury. The Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement was presented to German cinematographer Michae ...
. It premiered at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016.
Awards
The following awards were presented:
* Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – '' I Don't Feel ...
.
Plot
Around the year 2050, 85-year-old Marjorie is experiencing the first symptoms of
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. To bring her comfort, her daughter Tess and son-in-law Jon hire a service called Prime, designed to assist Alzheimer patients by creating holographic projections of deceased family members which are "fed" with the patients' memories so that they can "retell" them back in case they forget them. Marjorie has chosen a younger version of her late husband Walter, who died fifteen years earlier. This choice disturbs Tess, so she does not talk to Walter's hologram. Marjorie tells stories of her life to Walter Prime and enjoys listening to him tell them back, usually asking him to embellish some to make them better and prettier the next time he tells them, so that the new story will become her new memory. Meanwhile, Julie, Marjorie's caretaker, moves in with the family to watch over her and confides in Walter.
In time, Walter Prime becomes curious about the real Walter's personal and professional lives and starts asking Jon about them. Jon tells Walter Prime a family secret that must never be repeated to Marjorie: She and Walter had a son named Damian who committed suicide forty years earlier and, before doing so, killed the beloved family dog Toni II (a black French poodle who looked just like the family's previous dog, Toni) to take her with him. Marjorie hasn't said Damian's name since then. Despite Walter Prime's understanding about not telling her, Marjorie suddenly asks for Damian in a bout of dementia. Tess finds a Bible in the living room table and accuses Julie (who had given it to Marjorie) of taking advantage of Marjorie's condition to religiously manipulate her (since Marjorie has always been an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
), which prompts Marjorie to become upset and urinate herself.
Later on Tess and Marjorie are sitting on the couch talking. It is soon revealed that Marjorie has died and Tess is talking to a Prime version of Marjorie; Jon recommended the Prime Program for his wife to help her cope with the death of her mother. Tess remains highly skeptical of the Prime program, especially because Marjorie Prime is constantly smiling and appears to be too understanding to truly impersonate Marjorie's real personality. This leads Tess to realize she has chosen the aged version of her mother because this is the version she still has things she needs to say to. Meanwhile, in a flashback to when Walter was alive, he and Marjorie are sitting on the couch watching the nightly news, which shows “The Gates,” an art exhibit by Christo and Jeanne-Claude that was installed in New York City's Central Park in February 2005. As was explained in an earlier scene, this was shortly after Walter and Marjorie's son, Damian, killed Toni II and committed suicide. Walter and Marjorie become emotional and embrace one another.
Sometime later, Jon is talking to what is revealed to be a Prime version of Tess in the living room; a year has passed, and Tess, apparently still unable to deal with Marjorie's death, had hanged herself during a vacation in Madagascar. Jon brings Tess' granddaughter to meet Tess Prime because she never met the real Tess while she was alive, due to Tess' estrangement from her daughter.
Years later, Tess' granddaughter is grown up and Jon is very old. In the house's living room, Walter Prime, Marjorie Prime, and Tess Prime talk about the old days, reliving old memories. They discuss a memory of the dog Toni II, believing Tess was the one who picked him out. Walter tells them that Tess didn't pick Toni: Damian did. He picked her because she looked like their previous dog, also named Toni, who died before Tess was born and whom she never knew existed. After hearing the story, Marjorie Prime and Tess Prime can remember Damian too. As Walter Prime apologizes for making them sad with his story, Marjorie Prime responds by saying the only thing she can think of is "how nice that we could love somebody".
Cast

*
Lois Smith
Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans 7 decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including '' ...
as Marjorie/Marjorie Prime
**
Hannah Gross
Hannah Gross is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Debbie Mitford in the Netflix drama '' Mindhunter''.
Early life
Gross grew up in Toronto. She is the daughter of actors Martha Burns and Paul Gross. She attended New York ...
as Young Marjorie
*
Jon Hamm
Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and tw ...
as Walter/Walter Prime
*
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...
as Jon
*
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Davis made her acting debut in the satirical romantic comedy ''Toots ...
as Tess/Tess Prime
*
Stephanie Andujar as Julie
*
Leslie Lyles
Leslie Lyles is an American theater, film, and television actress. She appeared in nearly seventy films and television serials to-date.
Personal life
Lyles is the ex-wife of playwright and actor Keith Reddin
Keith Reddin (born July 7, 1956) is ...
as Mrs. Salveson
Release
FilmRise
FilmRise is an American media company, headquartered in New York City, that operates a film and television studio and a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) network. As of November 2024, the FilmRise app has reported more than 31.5 milli ...
acquired distribution rights to the film after its premiere at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016.
Awards
The following awards were presented:
* Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – '' I Don't Feel ...
.
Reception
Critical response
''Marjorie Prime'' received critical acclaim. It holds an approval rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 7.42/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Intimate in setting yet ambitious in scope, the beautifully acted ''Marjorie Prime'' poses thought-provoking questions about memory, humanity, and love." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades
The film won the Sloan Feature Film Prize, which includes a $20,000 cash award, presented at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The award jury awarded the film for its "imaginative and nuanced depiction of the evolving relationship between humans and technology, and its moving dramatization of how intelligent machines can challenge our notions of identity, memory and mortality.” The jury members were
Heather Berlin, Tracy Drain,
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
Nicole Perlman
Nicole Perlman (born December 10, 1981) is an American screenwriter, best known for co-writing the Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014), and the story for Marvel's '' Captain Marvel'' (2019), and for '' Pokémon Detect ...
, and
Jennifer Phang
Jennifer Phang ( ) is an American filmmaker (writer, director, producer), most known for her feature films ''Advantageous'' (2015) and ''Half-Life (film), Half-Life'' (2008). ''Advantageous'' premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, winning a ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Sundance Alfred P. Sloan Prize
2017 films
2010s science fiction drama films
American films based on plays
American independent films
American science fiction drama films
Films directed by Michael Almereyda
Films set on Long Island
Films set in the future
Films shot in New York (state)
2017 drama films
Alfred P. Sloan Prize winners
Sundance Film Festival award–winning films
2017 independent films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
English-language science fiction drama films
Films scored by Mica Levi
English-language independent films