Memento (2000)

Image taken from IMDb

Introduction

Memento is a psychological thriller released in 2000 from the mind of Christopher Nolan, who also directed, produced, and wrote the newer Batman movies. The movie is based off of Nolan’s younger brother’s short story, “Memento Mori.” The movie has been praised for its amazing representation of anterograde amnesia, a type of short term memory loss. This movie won several awards, as well as put Christopher Nolan into the big league of movie directing. But what is it exactly that makes this movie so great?

Plot (may contain minor spoilers)

The movie is separated into two sequences. The first sequence is in black and white, and is played chronologically. The other sequence is in color and is plays the scenes in reverse chronological order. At the end of the film, the two sequences meet up, creating a single story. I’m not going to go into the story like I usually do, since I want everyone reading this to go see it for themselves, instead of just reading my synopsis of it. I’m only going to highlight the basic plot, so that you know what you’re getting into.

The story focuses on Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, or short term memory loss. He was injured in some accident, and since then he has been unable to make new memories (the specifics of the accident are revealed later in the plot). Leonard is searching for the man who killed his wife. The police do not think that his wife’s killer exists, so Shelby is forced to look for the killer himself. Leonard knows several things about the killer, such as his name being John (or possible James) G., or that he is still in town. Leonard remembers this and other information using a unique method of Polaroid pictures and tattoos.

One of Leonard’s only “friends” is a many that goes by “Teddy” (played by Joe Pantoliano). Leonard doesn’t fully trust Teddy, because on the back of his Polaroid picture of him, “Do not trust his lies” is written in pen. As the movie plays out, more information is given on him, and on other people that Leonard runs across.

One of the recurring motifs in this movie is Leonard’s story about a man named Sammy Jenkins. Sammy was a man that Leonard know earlier in his life, when he worked as an insurance investigator. Sammy also suffered from short term memory loss caused by an accident. Leonard based his method of note keeping off of the story of Sammy Jenkins. I won’t go into any more details about the story, as I want there to still be some mystery for when you watch it.

My Opinion

I loved this movie. This movie is currently on my top ten movies of all time, alongside Breakfast at Tiffany’s and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It has everything that you could ask for in a movie. There’s suspense, mystery, murder, romance, flashbacks, and one of the most shocking plot twists I have seen. The story may seem a bit confusing at first, but after about 30 minutes, all the pieces start falling in place and answering your questions, and then leaving you with twice as many as you had in the first place.

I love the use of reverse chronological order in this movie. In most other cases, it wouldn’t work, as the story might get too confusing, but it works for this movie. The blending of the Sammy Jenkins and Leonard Shelby stories works perfectly, especially at the end. This is one of those movies that you won’t instantly understand the movie. You will need a few minutes to gather your thoughts and put all of the pieces of the story together to form a conclusion. I have to say that this is one of the first logical, yet out of nowhere twists I’ve seen in a while, and I loved every second of it.

Conclusion

If this is your first time hearing about this movie, go see it. If you’ve seen a bit about this movie, but haven’t yet watched it, go see it. If you’ve already seen it, but want to go watch it again, then do it. This is a great example of how modern thrillers can try to not be terrible. This movie has convinced me to check out some of Nolan’s other works, including rewatching the newer Batman trilogy. Memento is a unique, amazing thriller that will be stuck inside your head for the next week after watching it, and possibly beyond that. I just hope that I can find a movie that can match it’s amazing storytelling.