Memento is the film that probably skyrocketed Christopher Nolan's colorful career as a director. Following the success of his first feature, he twists our minds to more possibilities in filmmaking.
The movie is praised for its unique story structure that bends your mind and thinks reversely.
It's a masterpiece in bending our perspectives to filmmaking and experience.
Plot Overview
The story of Memento is told in different time structures. The colored sequences are shown in reverse, while the black-and-white sequences are in chronological order.
It follows Leonard Shelby, a former insurance investigator who stays in a motel room. He suffers a rare, untreatable condition of amnesia. He cannot store recent memories for no more than a couple of minutes. To allow him to tell himself about the events, he takes Polaroid pictures and makes a note of them or has the clues tattooed on his body. The only thing he remembers is the day his wife was murdered by some unknown assailant and moments before that.
Leonard sets off on a twist of personal investigation and vendetta to find the perpetrators who killed his wife. During his investigation, he meets two important people who he thinks have the answers to locating the people involved in his wife's murder: Teddy, a police officer who often calls Leonard at his motel, and Natalie, a local bartender who hates him because he wears the same outfit her boyfriend wears.
Review
Memento features the talents of Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pontollano.
Like other Christopher Nolan films, Memento is mindblowing in its presentation. Its unique story structure combined with otherworldly twists makes it truly enjoyable. I like how Leonard asks a question in almost every scene; the answer is at the end of the sequence.
Christopher Nolan explained how the film is structured and the alternating sequences. As the black-and-white moves forward, the colored sequences move backward until the two connect. The two stories are confusing at the start, especially when you are not given some context about the events before Leonard gets into the motel and starts questioning himself.
Fun fact, in the DVD release of this film there is a bonus content that arranges the
You have to give a hat off to how uniquely presented this is. It's unlike any crime movie. We are used to seeing films in linear, but Memento shows that mysteries can come when you tell the story backward. Delivering this kind of mindblowing film takes a genius and a lot of guts.
A perfect 5 out of 5 stars.