Emmy-winning filmmaker Rob Burnett decided to ask the most important of questions in his surprisingly emotional In Memoriam. What matters more: professional career legacy, or the connections formed with others? Even if the answer is wildly obvious, the journey—and incredible ensemble cast—do most of the heavy lifting along the way. Actor Marc Maron is tasked with making his unlikable self-proclaimed “asshole” of a character into someone we will relate to. At the top of the film, Langston (Maron) gets diagnosed with stage four cancer, with just six months left to live. He quickly becomes obsessed with making it into the oscars “in memoriam” montage, but does that really matter? The editing can feel very TV-movie and the plot structure meandering, but In Memoriam has just enough to satiate its dramedy badge with honors.
Shortly after insulting the doctor who diagnosed him with stage four “ass cancer,” Langston begins seeing a therapist (Oscar-winner Lily Gladstone) who encourages him to revisit his past. Langston is very playful and flirtatious with her, insisting he doesn’t even remember whether he’s had 4 or 6 marriages. Even his latest, much-younger girlfriend doesn’t last after Langston obnoxiously proposes and informs her that he’s going to die in six months within a span of a minute. As an ego-driven, incredibly vain actor, Langston has subsequently pushed away everyone that has ever been close to him. How can he possibly repair the damage before his ticket is up?
The solution, at least emotionally-speaking, could come in the form of Langston’s daughter, Maura (Talia Ryder). He hasn’t so much been an absentee father as a completely non-existent one. One of Langston’s (many) ex-wives (Judy Greer) did not want him involved, but the diagnosis reframes everything. In this sublime connection, Langston finally gets humanized, at least a little bit. He and Maura begin meeting up, trying out acting as Langston pushes to get her into the biz. A subplot about an actual movie called Six Months and Justin Long’s utterly ridiculous influencer, is just straight up hilarious. There are plenty of buzzy industry terms; one gets the impression that with a familiarity of the film and television industries, they will get a much greater enjoyment here. Everyone else may be scratching their heads a bit, particularly in Langston’s obsessive nature in both the acting possibilities and his own want to secure his Oscars legacy.
At times, In Memoriam feels like it’s arbitrarily checking off cliche boxes on its way across the finish line. But there are genuine moments of meaning here that will have you reaching for tissues. Much of this is thanks for Maron’s go-for-broke performance. Even despite some crinkles and cracks in the narrative, Maron is always engaging, and the ensemble that has been collected is rather dynamic. A scene Langston shares with Sharon Stone is potent and sweet, a true highlight amongst the rest. The only other parts that carry that brand of electrical energy between performers occur during the final act. In Memoriam is overall funny and delightful, but could certainly do with some fine tuning before it shows up at Oscars night.
In Memoriam screened at 2026’s Tribeca Film Festival.
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