Memento
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Movie Reviews of Memento
Movie Review: A memento of Christopher Nolan's inception
Summary: 5 Stars
Though Memento wasn't Christopher Nolan's very first film, it was his first shot at the big time, as Doodlebug was a 3 minute short and Following was a student film made on a budget of under $6,000. So, you could call Memento a memento of Christopher Nolan's inception as a professional director. It is based on a story that his brother Jonathan wrote about a man who suffers from Anterograde Amnesia--the inability to form new memories after damage to the hippocampus. This character is named Leonard Shelby and he is played by the versatile Australian Actor, Guy Pearce:
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Leonard Shelby: It's just an anonymous room. There's nothing in the drawers. But you look anyway. Nothing except the Gideon bible, which I, of course, read religiously.
Pearce is really good in this, and though the premise has a built in catch--since he can't remember anything he continuously says the same things and tells the same stories until the people he meets and the audience are both totally fed up--I enjoyed his performance a lot. Leonard is bent on getting revenge on the man who murdered his wife, but his memory problem not only makes this especially difficult--he takes notes, Polaroids, and even has important "facts" tattooed on himself in a futile attempt to keep track of it all--it also makes us doubt the veracity of his subjective view of reality. Is he really on track to get revenge, or is he being manipulated by others with their own agendas? And if he does get revenge, how will he enjoy that dish--best served cold--if he can't even remember it being served? And even the memories he does have, the ones formed before the accident, how does he know that they are true?
Leonard Shelby--and the other characters, too--are all the ultimate Unreliable Narrators. I first heard the term in conjunction with the novel The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford, but if you watch the director's interview in the DVD bonus material, Nolan uses it to describe Leonard. Such elevated concepts and questioning of the very nature of reality are the hallmarks of Nolan's films. He is a rare director who can both toy with philosophy and a big budget, and still fill the seats. An art house director whose films are blockbusters. Memento, while certainly no blockbuster, was at least successful enough to allow him to keep making films. I have not seen Inception yet, but it seems to be doing very well at the box office, while sporting a convoluted and deep plot that once again questions the nature of reality. Both Memento and Inception remind me in a way of The Matrix, and by the way, the other two supporting cast members--Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano--were both in The Matrix as Trinity and Cypher respectively. They are both feeding Shelby stories that may or may not be true. In Memento, who isn't an Unreliable Narrator?
The fun of watching Memento is putting together the pieces of the puzzle. It alternates between flashback scenes, which are in black and white, and color scenes that are present time, moving forward. The chronology of this approach is identical to the way F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby with each flashback sequence going further and further back in time until at the end the puzzle of Gatsby's greatness is solved. Now that I think of it, Nick Carraway was also a kind of Unreliable Narrator, because the first thing he says is:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.
"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
And Carraway then proceeds to use the rest of the book to harshly judge and criticize just about everyone, advantaged or not.
L.A. Confidential (Snap Case) (1997) Guy Pearce was Ed Exley
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) Guy Pearce was Adam/Felicia
The Chumscrubber (2005) Carrie-Anne Moss was Jerri Falls
Chocolat (2000) Carrie-Anne Moss was Caroline Clairmont
The Ultimate Matrix Collection (1999) Carrie-Anne Moss was Trinity in The Matrix and 2 subsequent sequels, Joe Pantoliano was Cypher
The Moguls (aka The Amateurs) (2005) Joe Pantoliano was Some Idiot
Daredevil (Director's Cut) (2003) Joe Pantoliano was Ben Urich
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) Joe Pantoliano was Mogan
Bound (1996) Joe Pantoliano was Caesar
The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2008) Directed by Christopher Nolan
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Leonard Shelby: Now... where was I?
Movie Review: Best film of 2001
Summary: 5 Stars
As of this writing, the subject of this review, Memento, is probably the best film of 2001.Leonard Shelby has a rare form of short-term amnesia; he can't form new memories. The only thing he does remember is everything in his life up to the night his wife was raped and killed by an anonymous assailant who gave Leonard the head injury that caused his condition. Now Leonard is obsessed with finding him, despite his handicap. He writes notes to himself, takes pictures of important people and places, and even tattoos important facts on his body. He will not give up, even as he wakes up every day not knowing what happened the day before.
With a premise like the one written above, do you really need to read the rest of this review to convince yourself that you simply must go see this movie? The possibilities for great suspense and mystery should be obvious from the premise just given. Memento has the perfect concept for a wonderful mystery, and takes advantage of it through the structure, which is unique, engaging, and central to the film's method of bringing the viewer in. One of the important questions for the film would be, How can it tell the story in an interesting way, and at the same time let us in on Leonard Shelby's world? How can it give us an idea of what it's like to be him? All these questions are solved in one fell swoop with the help of a great, non-linear plot structure.
The film starts with a memorable image: a Polaroid being developed backwards, eventually being put back into the camera by our protagonist, Leonard Shelby, after he has shot someone. This first image sets up the style of the rest of the film: nonlinear and looping back onto itself, the film is split up into subsections of plot that take place after the one following it. So, in essence, we are being told the story backwards, with each subsequent section ending where the previous one began. It's a unique, engaging, and important method of storytelling this film employs, and it never gets confusing or unclear for the audience. Of course, Shelby lives in real time, in constant forward motion, not traveling further and further back in time like we are while watching the film. But in order to capture the essence of Shelby's existence, we have to be given the sensation of suddenly being thrust into a situation without knowing (or in Shelby's case, remembering) what has happened before. We have to be as clueless as he is. That is accomplished through Memento's structure. It's much more than a gimmick; it's a gateway into the protagonist's mind.
From there, the film simply takes off, and never slows down. We are constantly kept alert and engaged in what's happening because we are as clueless as Leonard, and simply because the mystery is so great. His investigation for "John G," the killer, is fascinating and leads to many twists, turns, new alliances, and back-stabbings. Just when you think you have it "figured out" (if you're foolish enough to really think so) the film takes a turn and opens up whole new possibilities.
With the smoothness and grace of a film that knows it has a spectacular script, Memento introduces its various themes seamlessly into the main detective-story narrative. What is so immensely enjoyable about watching Memento is that it has so much thematic depth to it; all of the plot's twists and turns only serve to emphasize one of its many motifs. How far can someone rely on his or her memory of something until it starts to become distorted? Shelby's situation is so precarious because he is the most unreliable of narrators; the audience, following the story, is dependant on him for telling the story. Like a cancer, this realization is introduced in the viewer and grows as the film progresses. Shelby is a living, breathing personification of an intriguing philosophical question: can someone live without memory, by just knowing the facts about a situation and going on them? "Memory is unreliable. Facts are the only thing you can count on," Shelby says. He lives that quote, for time doesn't exist for someone like Shelby. Since he can't be aware of the passage of time, not knowing where he has been or how long it's been since his wife died, time really has no meaning for him. His "time" is merely the short bursts of consciousness that flare up and die every day. Shelby's condition is one of the most tragic situations any protagonists in film have been in.
The acting is, in a word, excellent, with Guy Pearce wrenchingly inhabiting this character. He's able to be charming, clueless, determined, and gruff all simultaneously. He is a detective trying to figure out the mystery but raging against the confines of his own mind, which prevent him from doing so. He talks to other characters in a polite and nice, but neutral manner, as if unsure whether or not he has actually talked to this person before but just doesn't remember it. It's a quietly intense performance, and the audience feels his pain through it.
I end this review with a mention of the ending of the film. No spoilers here, but not only does it manage to surprise us, shock us, and put the entire story in a new perspective, but it also wrenches the sympathy out of us so naturally because of what it does to Leonard Shelby in terms of his development as a character. To say that we discover a new side of him is to put it lightly; we simultaneously cry out in horror and sympathy at the final, brutal revelation. To say anything more would be wrong. It is the perfect ending to a perfect movie.
Movie Review: A Deceptive Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
With his second feature film, director Christopher Nolan (Following) created a stunning thriller. Not only is Memento an incredible accomplishment as a film, but also an impressive feat for a relatively new filmmaker. The film's screenplay, which was written by Nolan and was inspired by his brother Jonathan's short story, is nothing short of brilliant. The story taps the best ideas from both classic noir and detective films of the late 1940s, as well as more contemporary psychological suspense films, and the result is a film, which is in essence a neo-noir/thriller. Skillfully, Christopher Nolan avoids the all-too-familiar pitfalls of the two genres while acknowledging their inherent strengths. Rich in atmosphere and character, Memento is a modern classic and a prime example of using an intricate narrative to heighten a story's impact.
Ever since his wife was assaulted, Leonard Shelby (marvelously portrayed by Guy Pearce) has suffered from a rare disorder. His mind is incapable of creating new memories, so everything he has experienced since the attack he forgets in a matter of minutes. Left with little to live for, Leonard vows that he will avenge his wife... but this proves to be difficult without his short-term memory. Leonard relies on mementos (lists, notes, photographs, and even tattoos) to aid him in his search for the killer, but he is also forced to trust strangers. Among those that he confides in are Teddy (played by Joe Pantoliano, with an irritating smirk) a sarcastic snitch with connections on both sides of the law and Natalie (played by Carrie-Anne Moss, who straddles the line between sympathetic victim and sadistic seductress), the girlfriend of a missing drug dealer. As Leonard follows the clues it becomes apparent that the people he surround himself with are not what he perceived them to be. They are either exploiting his disability for their own gain or manipulating him to keep him from the shocking truth about his wife's death and the identity of her killer. Leonard realizes that he can trust no one, not even himself.
When Memento was released, it was hailed as a visionary piece of filmmaking and it's clear that the greatest star of the film is its story, which unfolds in a series of segments shown in reversed chronological order. This method, which might have spoiled the ending in any other film, is miraculous in that it places the story's climax in the beginning of the film and then allows the audience to see what events lead up to that final act. In recent years many filmmakers have played with viewers' expectations and intentionally subverted those expectations, leading to mixed results. Often filmmakers that embrace such an unorthodox narrative to tell a story do so to individualize their films, but if their films had were to be edited into a more typical narrative structure, then they would lose their originality. Not so with Memento. Its narrative isn't just a manipulative gimmick to keep audiences interested. The story almost requires this dyslexic treatment so that viewers will gain greater insight into the protagonist's dilemma. Another unique aspect is its psychological inner workings, which suggests many things about the nature of corruption and revenge. If one were capable of forgetting their past transgressions, are they then purified by their ignorance of those transgressions or are they forever condemned to suffer the consequences of their actions... again... and again... and again? Do our memories determine who we are or does our character shape our memories to suit our needs? If only we knew; if only we could remember.
Also recommended:
Double Indemnity
Dark Passage
Psycho
Don't Look Now
Angel Heart
Reservoir Dogs
The Usual Suspects
Bound
Fight Club
Movie Review: Compulsive and Compulsory Viewing
Summary: 5 Stars
A film that runs backwards...a film noir that runs backwards...a film in which everyone's up to something but it's almost impossible to work out what. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea in terms of premise of film, but "Memento" is far and away the most inventive crime/thriller film of recent years.The plot revolves around Leonard ("don't call me Lenny") Shelby and his attempts at finding his wife's killer. To make life slightly harder, the attack which killed his wife also robbed Shelby of his ability to make new memories - thus, he writes copious notes everywhere and records clues in his hunt by tattooing them on himself or taking polaroid photos of them.
Naturally, the standout feature of this film is the reverse-telling. The opening moments actually run backwards as a bullet explodes back into a gun, but the rest of the film is divided into sections of between 5 and 10 minutes which are simply re-ordered to go backwards. On the first viewing this is quite disorienting, but eventually the mind catches up with what's going on and the viewer will say things to himself such as "so this scene needs to get Leonard to the hotel room" to keep up with the narrative.
There are also a series of black-and-white scenes which appear in between the backwards scenes and it is the constant puzzle over where these fit in and exactly what is going on which keeps the viewer engaged. In short, this is not a movie to sit back and relax in unless you want to be left behind very rapidly.
The two male leads receive the bulk of the screen time, with Australia's Guy Pearce handling Leonard Shelby in a particularly strong manner. Pearce's only major Hollywood role prior to this one had been opposite Russell Crowe in "LA Confidential", and it had been a mystery among Australian film buffs why Crowe had gone on to bigger and better things while Pearce had not. This performance certainly reaffirms his position as one of the better actors of today.
Joe Pantoliano (of "Matrix" fame) is also superb as the shady Teddy, a man who clearly knows much more than he is letting on. Pantoliano is charming enough in the early scenes to set himself up as the good guy, but (and this is far from revealing the plot) is also capable of presenting a very dark side to his character.
Shelby, who often tells the story in an internal monologue (a definite nod to the noir classics), is a mordantly funny character. One of the great moments of the film - spread over nearly half an hour of cuts - involves his fight with a man named Dodd. At one point, we see the two men running parallel to each other through a trailer park; as the scene begins, Shelby's voice asks "what am I doing? That's right, I'm running. Am I chasing someone?" Having seen Dodd, he comments "That's right, I'm chasing him." Dodd shoots at him as Shelby calmly corrects himself "Nope, he's chasing me". Later, Shelby is sitting in a bathroom with a bottle in his hand waiting to attack the owner of the hotel room; one scene features him looking down at the bottle and thinking "strange, I don't feel drunk..."
Realistically, there is no way in which viewing this film could be done in a passive way. The viewer is constantly asking questions about where certain objects are, why some writing is obscured, what role various characters (especially Shelby's possible love interest) have in the plot and so on. The story of Sammy Jenkis, slowly revealed in the black-and-white scenes, only adds to these layers which need to be waded through.
A film like this has to be seen on many occasions and preferably with a group of people, as each one will notice different details and clues about what might actually have been going on. As the credits roll at the end (or beginning, depending on how you wish to think about it), there will generally be more questions than there are answers - that, after all, is the mark of success of a film noir. Is Leonard successful? In the end, that is really up the viewer to decide.
This film has no drawbacks at all, and should be viewed by anyone interested in challenging their perceptions of the world. It is also a particularly effective lesson in telling a story in an unconventional manner.
If you enjoy cheering for the good guy or the bad guy, this film is probably not for you. If you enjoy trying to work out who the good guy or the bad guy is so you can cheer for him, this is definitely for you.
Movie Review: Memento (2000)
Summary: 5 Stars
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Russ Fega, Jorja Fox, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harriet Sansom Harris.
Running Time: 113 minutes
Rated R for violence, language and some drug content.
There are a lot of excellent movies whose scripts rewrote the rules of cinematic storytelling (the Oscar-winning "The Usual Suspects" and "Pulp Fiction" are two good examples). "Memento" deserves a place among those films: it's the most complex, original, innovative, intriguing achievement to hit the big screen in a while. "Memento" looks like an ordinary film noir, having all the conventional elements (femme fatale, unreliable characters, ambiguous protagonist/narrator, bleak ending), until is fatally strikes you with its originality and audacity, making you unable to stop watching. Director Christopher Nolan manages to pull off a rare feat in the film business these days by taking the entire industry by storm with his incredible intelligent, disjointed thriller "Memento". While many films have since tried to imitate its taut script and superb execuation, it remains one fo the most unique and thought-provoking pieces of the past decade.
From the beginning you realize you're not watching the usual thriller: the reversed opening sequence is a fascinating narrative choice, and even more fascinating is the director's decision to tell the whole story backwards, with each separate scene ending where the previous one began. Thanks to this trick, the audience is as confused as the movie's main character, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a peculiar DIY detective who wants to find the bloke who raped and killed his wife (CSI's Jorja Fox). While attempting to save his wife during the attack, "Lenny" sustained a head injury and has lost his short-term memory, so every new event is gone from his mind after 10 minutes. He has to go on with his life by taking notes, snapping Polaroids and putting tattoos all over his body. He also gets some valuable help from a cop, "Teddy" (Joe Pantoliano), and a barmaid, Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). But should he really trust them, given he can't almost even trust himself due to his neurological condition. Nolan (who screenwrote the film as well) knows how to build up the tension, as well as add emotion, with the touching parallel story of Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky), a man with the same disease as Leonard.
Both Pearce and Tobolowsky are superb as the two troubled men: the former makes you feel as uneasy as he does almost immediately, and he's got some really ace lines ("How am I supposed to heal if I can't feel time?"); the latter, on the other hand, is heartbreaking, his experiences make us wanna cry before the film's over. Pantoliano and Moss are very impressive too, their true intentions remaining unclear until the end. Nolan beautifully intertwines the present and the past, linking events together like a detective putting all the clues together until the thief is found. While "Memento" is thoroughly composed with its intertwining plot, the film's great strength can also be considered it potential flaw. The confusion that is inevitable can make it difficult for some to follow, especially for those who are used to a film flowing over them in a passive way. Memento requires you to exercise your brain and even when it is all over certain questions will still remain and further viewing is essential. Of course, the central paradox of the film should not be forgotten, this is a revenge story but of course the character has now way of remembering the actual crime, his memory is gone and the memory of the act of revenge will also be a fleeting one. Nolan's story and the ensemble cast's acting are outstanding, but a mention also has to go to the cinematography and soundtrack that both helped greatly to create the oppressive mood that pervaded throughout he film and is essential to generate the sense of fragility that exists in Leonard's connection to the world. An intelligent, profound, and supreme addition to the genre. One of the best films of the decade thus far.