Memento (2000)

- A film you won't forget!

Where to start my review of "Memento" literally is a tough question. This is one of my very, very favorite movies. Christopher Nolan's second feature is hands down one of the cleverest film I have ever seen. Smaller in scale but every bit as brillant and - to me - even more interesting than his latest masterpiece "Inception" this is one of Nolan's fabulous originals that works both as an intruiging neo-noir thriller and as a challenging mindgame. I think it is still his best work to date.

An ingenious concept is the core of this insanely stunning piece but it is moreover its very careful and beautiful construction and its close attention to details that round up a perfect motion picture, that once more shows us the great possibilities that assembly has to offer, as we know since Melies, Porter or Eisenstein to name just a few.

The very first shot during the opening credits alone is masterful all in itself and kind of summarizes the entire film in only one image, literally. A polaroid photograph showing a dead man constantly fading with every shake of the hand holding it. It's a first warning to the viewer. Nothing is for certain in this complicated puzzle of a movie! It is a film that you have to pay highest attention to or you're gonna be completely lost. So concentrate and make sure not to leave the room while the film is running!

"Memento" tells the story of Leonard Shelby, a man without short term memory. He is played by a very charismatic Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential). Since an unknown attacker killed his wife and wounded him badly he can't remember new things. After a couple of minutes he has forgotten about what he just did. That makes living very complicated but Leonard is organized and disciplined. To be sure about what he is doing, the protagonist writes himself countless notes and even tattoos very important messages on his body. Only routine makes every day life possible. But not only the daily tasks are a challenge. Leonard is actually searching for the guy who killed his wife. To solve a crime without knowing anything is as difficult as it sounds. As Leonard investigates the viewer is always at his side and will have his own memory tested pretty soon.

The movie is structured in a most ingenious way, that I sadly can't go into detail for spoiler reasons. Some people might generally call it non-linear narration. Nolan himself however has called the struture to be extremely linear due to the fact that you can not take out a single scene from the film without creating a hole making it incoherent.

I can tell you though that at the end not only does everything come together perfectly and in a most elegant way, also the way the movie is organized is not just a gimmick to confuse people (as few people have criticised) but makes perfect sense and adds an additional dimension to the reception process. More importantly it gives a wonderful dynamic spin on the characters and their motivations.

While Leonard tries to figure out who is responsible for the death of his wife he runs into several people along the way. Some of them may know him, but of course he has fogotten who they are. Joe Pantoliano plays a mysterious guy named Teddy and Carry-Anne Moss ("The Matrix") is a bartender who obviously wants to help Leonard with his condition and his quest.

But who can Leonard really trust? He confidently trusts his notes. As he tells other people it is facts that lead to the truth not memories. Memories can be distorted, they are irrelevant if you know the facts. The more important question is though: who can we trust?

Film Noir has always been the home of mysterious, doubtful and conflicting characters. Classics like "Double Indemnity" certainly influenced Nolan in his films. "Memento" kind of turns the genre upside down and takes it to extremes. The picture creates a mystery like in a "Whodunit" the difference being that the key question is not so much on the "who?" but rather on the "how?" and "why?".

On top of that Nolan makes great use of his concept to create occasionly very funny scenes. There are lots of very humorous situations in this movie that work in a very subtle way because it comes with the flow of the film and picks up on it's basic idea. It is really dry humor that feels very authentic and creates very natural laughs without being "comedic". Aside of its entertaining and artistic qualities "Memento" also transports quite philosophical messages. It's a movie about the relation of time and space, the importance of memories and how they constitute one's identity and feelings like love and hate. But it also raises questions about morality in relation to the theme of revenge. Last but not least it also argues that it is important to be able to forget things and overcome states like grief and anger.

The fantastic, outrageously smart script also includes a great subplot that is absolutely moving and mesmerizing and gives even more depth to the film. Along with it there are flashbacks to illuminate some of Leonard's past.

However, at the end of the film it is up to the audience to piece it all together in the right way. You may find there to be multiple interpretations. Just like "Inception", "Memento" has been discussed vividly on the internet and elsewhere. A huge amount of different theories exist. Nolan, however, repeatedly argued in interviews that there is one clear solution to find if you paid close attention.

Memento is based on an idea for a short story by Chris Nolan's brother Jonathan that he told him about on a long car trip through the states. Still Nolan came up with his own idea I think since the short story was not even written yet and is quite different from the film. Still I give Jonathan credit for the inception of a great innovative film. But it's of course Chris Nolan's amazing screenplay that stands out and also was nominated for an Oscar (and should have won).

On the official website you can find background information to the film's story by the way where they also try to link it to Jonathan's short story. "Memento" was discovered at the film festivals and gathered huge respect from the critics. It was Nolan's glorious entrance into the business.

"Memento" tells the story of Leonard Shelby, a man without short term memory. He is played by a very charismatic Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential). Since an unknown attacker killed his wife and ... I've told you that before, haven't I?