Memento (2000)
Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Leonard (Pearce) is an insurance investigator whose memory has been damaged following a head injury he sustained after intervening in his wife's murder. Subsequently, the quality of his life is severely hampered and he can now only live a comprehendible life of prolific note-taking, tattooing notes on himself and taking pictures of things with a Polaroid camera.

As his memories come to him, Leonard badly yearns for revenge of his wife's murder. But as numerous characters explain, there may be little point if he won't remember to enjoy his revenge.

Who are his friends? Who are his enemies? What is the truth? In Leonard's world, the answers to these questions shift and change from second to second. And the more he tries to figure out what is true and real, the deeper he sinks into a multi-layered abyss of uncertainty and surprises.

User Comment: Jim Cook Encinitas, California • If you hate reality-based film-making this is awful. If you hate Film Noir, this is ugly. But for me, Nolan has convinced me he is one of the most important directors out there. I was even thinking, "It must be easy to edit a movie so that it's all backwards." But it's not, it's not any easier - and he leaves you straining and watching from scene to scene, searching for the truth. Even the final revelation will affect each viewer and leaves them searching for their own "ultimate truth" according to their own experience.

Most people comment about manipulation in connection with this movie, but after watching the last scene, I'm convinced that manipulation is not the main theme at all. I don't want to spoil it for you, but the basis of unfolding backwards in time is that you are enlisted to scrutinize the film trying to discover some set of motivations behind each character's actions later in time that makes sense. If you think you would enjoy this sort of puzzle, I think you will enjoy this excellently crafted film.

Summary: The real thing!

Trivia:
• In the opening credits a developing Polaroid photograph of a bloody body is shown in reverse, followed by a brief shot of "Teddy's" murder shown in reverse. Two different, but connecting, narratives unfold in the film. One narrative, which is often accompanied by voice-overs by Guy Pearce as his character, "Leonard Shelby," is in black and white and appears in chronological order, in one to ten minute intervals. All of these scenes take place in Leonard's motel room, but are often interspersed with flashbacks to the "Sammy Jankis" character and to Leonard's own life prior to his wife's death. Leonard is often shown talking on the telephone in the black and white segments; near the end of the story, it is revealed that he has been talking on the phone to Teddy.
• The second narrative, which is in color and interrupts the forward-moving black and white portions of the film, appears in reverse chronological order, in five to ten minute intervals, with each segment connecting to the previous color segment. Initial shots and lines of dialogue from the color scenes are frequently repeated to establish the order of events. At the end of the film, the black and white and color narrations converge, and the audience learns the beginning of the story that has unfolded in reverse.
• The condition ascribed to characters Leonard (and Sammy), Anterograde memory-loss, is a rare disorder in which the victim is unable to form new memories. According to the film's presskit, Memento's portrait of this condition is not accurate; rather, director Christopher Nolan used the condition for its metaphorical value as a dramatic device. In 1998, Nolan's brother Jonathan shared with him the original story idea of a man with Anterograde memory-loss in search of revenge. Christopher Nolan independently developed the film's script from this idea, while his brother wrote the story "Memento Mori," later published in Esquire after the film's release.
• Memento was shot on location in Burbank, CA. A 7 May 2001 LAT article stated that the independently produced film cost $5,000,000 to make and, according to a 25 Oct 2001 HR article, grossed over $23,000,000 in domestic box office sales. Nolan received the screenwriting award at the Sundance Film Festival and the London Film Critics Circle Awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. Nolan was selected by AFI as Screenwriter of the Year, and the film received AFI nominations in the categories of Movie of the Year and Editor of the Year (Dody Dorn).

--- JOYA ---

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