Memento
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Movie Reviews of Memento
Movie Review: One of the best!!
Summary: 5 Stars
True movie making innovation is achieved in a film called Memento. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to review this movie without giving away some key points. The film does not tell the story in the usual chronological order, but rather alternates scenes from the beginning and from the end of the story, one after another, until the movie ends at the middle of the story. Confused yet? Let me explain.The movie begins in color with the first scene showing a developed Polaroid picture. Someone's hand shakes the Polaroid, but each time it shakes the picture is fading out. We soon see that the scene is literally going backwards. The next scene is in black and white and a man is in a hotel room. If you are closely paying attention, you realize that the black and white scenes are moving forward in time, while the color scenes are moving from the future, backwards, at the same time. The movie's conclusion has the black and white and the color scenes meeting up at the same point in time, so the movie ends at the middle of the story.
The crazy scene sequence tells an interesting, edge-of-your-seat story. We meet a man, Leonard Shelby, who cannot make new memories because of injuries suffered when he and his wife were attacked. His wife died in the attack, and Shelby has set out to find his wife's killer. Because he cannot make new memories, Shelby takes Polaroid pictures of almost everything to remind himself of the people he meets and the hotel where he stays. He also tattoos various messages to himself all over his body. The most important of these refers to finding his wife's killer.
Memento is groundbreaking in terms of its innovative, unusual screenplay, which earned an Oscar nomination for best screenplay. The actors do a magnificent job of telling the story and making it very realistic.
If you are a moviegoer who needs the story to be spelled out logically from beginning to end, then you may not enjoy Memento. While the storyline is excellent and the acting is great, the style of scene sequence could leave you frustrated and confused. However, if you can pay attention to detail and like a challenge, don't wait any longer. Buy this movie now!
Movie Review: The Blessings of Continuity ...
Summary: 5 Stars
... and the bewildering nightmare of life without it--therein lies the crux of "Memento", a quietly brilliant film by Christopher Nolan. The film's opening credits, set over the image of a Polaroid photograph in the reverse process of developing itself, indicates the way the story will unfold--backwards. The cast is filled with first-rate actors, headed by Guy Pearce in a mesmerizing performance as Leonard Shelby--driven, tormented, with a sallow, haunted visage that is maintained throughout the film-who suffers from a rare medical condition which has robbed him of short-term memory. He is on a relentless quest to find and kill the man who attacked and murdered his wife, and who is responsible for Leonard's memory malfunction. The "rub" is that Leonard can't possibly remember the identity of the assailant. Leonard is only able to track him down by the use of Polaroid photos scribbled with reminders, a few odd post-it notes, and, most chillingly, by tattooing clues to his body, including a constant reminder of the reason for his mission, emblazoned backwards across his chest, readable only by use of a mirror. (An aside: "We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are", says Leonard at the end of the film-but the film's question to the audience seems to be: what does that mirror reflect? And can we always believe in the truth of that reflection?) While some may find the vigilante aspect of the main character abhorrent, the audience's empathy for Leonard is gained by the poignancy of his plight. In one heart-wrenching scene, Leonard, while burning some of his wife's belongings, wonders if he has ever similarly disposed of her things before and thinks: "I can't remember to forget you." "Memento" is an astonishing homily about guilt and vengeance (and is vengeance ever really attainable?), manipulation and betrayal, and the lies we often force ourselves to believe when we fall into our own self-inflicted episodes of short-term memory. NOTE: Those with short-attention spans need not apply! This film demands from its audience absolute attention from beginning to end.Movie Review: Ignorance is NOT bliss
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie came as a huge surprise on me in a very positive way. Once in a while there are screenwriters and/or directors who really want to do something extraordinary to impress the viewers of their production. As an example, Groundhog Day had the main character relive the same day over and over again for ages until he finally got the girl of his dreams in the end, and it worked. Fight Club also gave you an intense story where two very different characters slowly evolved to a movie climax rarely seen, because to most people the answer to all the story's conflicts is to unimaginable. A closer example to "Memento" is "The Usual Suspects" from 1994, which gave you a very exciting story set in the criminal underworld run by Kayzer Zose, a man everybody fears but no one knows who he is...a lot like the main character in "Memento."The story is about insurance investigator Leonard, who suffers from short-term memory loss. Leonard got injured after intervening on his wife's murder. The murderer was still there when Leonard walked in on them, thus the main character ended up with a cracked skull (figuratively speaking).
The movie's opening scene is where most crime stories would end; the main character gets his wife's murderer. The rest of the movie is built upon the fragments of memories that led Leonard getting his guy, in other words this movie is kind of told backwards, starting from the mentioned opening scene and ending where the whole situation actually begun... sound confusing? Well, I was confused for about fifteen minutes but once I understood what was going on the rest was just pure genius. At one point I asked myself: "How can a story told backwards actually get more exciting by the minute?" As much as I would give you some information about this, you really have to see the movie for yourself to actually understand what a gem this really is. The tension curve is always rising, with an ending so surprisingly good that this movie is up there with stunners like aforementioned "The Usual Suspects" and "Fight Club."
This is a totally unmissable movie for lovers of the crime/mystery genre.
Movie Review: Sets A New Standard For Psychological Thrillers
Summary: 5 Stars
Memento, based on a short story by Christopher Nolan's brother, is a definite masterpiece and a tribute to how important film editing is. Memento goes backwards in time and in between moments are tidbits from a conversation about another man that suffers from the same condition Guy Pearce's character suffers from. It makes the suprise ending more of a suprise.Memento is about a man who is searching for the murderer of his wife. He recieves help from a bar owner and a another guy. Memento adds new depth to the psychologicial thriller genre and pretty much is the most original film to come out of Hollywood in years. Guy Pearce gives a amazing performance and probally the best of his carrer. Carrie-Ann Moss also delivers a great performance.
There is only one disappointing thing about this film. Sometimes it is hard to rember (no pun intened) what happend before the next moment. It is pretty cool how Guy Pearce's character takes pictures and has tattoos to rember things. But, you really do acutually start to dive into his mind after the first half and belive what he belives. You belive all of that until the ending, where it completly shocks you and makes you question everything.
It also is a tribute sound editing and soundtrack creating. The sound is set up to echo and brings you into his world. The soundtrack is the icing on the cake and brings new depth to this already amazing film. The soundtrack is very important to this film as it is too Requiem For A Dream, The Godfather, and Schindler's List.
Cinematography. That is what makes this film what it is. The editing just makes it pretty, but this is the bare bones. Now, I am not saying that the editing is worthless, it just is a add on. The cinematography makes you see through the people's eyes and view the world. This is really a new standard for cinematography.
This should definitly win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Soundtrack. It raises the bar for so many things and makes you just wonder what to belive.
"Now, where was I". ...
Movie Review: Unique and perplexing crime drama.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Memento" is one of my favorite "hidden gems" of 2001, and similar to movies like "Fight Club", "The Usual Suspects", and "Dark City", it stands out as one of the most unique. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, a man on a mission to find and punish those responsible for the murder of his wife. The problem is that after the murder, he is shocked into a state of short-term amnesia, meaning that his memory is very short term. He meets people, does things, and has encounters that he forgets almost minutes later. To counteract this condition, he covers his body in tatoos, notes, and carries a file full of information that he cannot afford to forget. Who are his friends? His enemies? It is a struggle to make that distinction.
What is most interesting about "Memento" is the style in which it was filmed. Rather than starting from the beginning and moving to the end, "Memento" is shown in reverse. The movie starts at the ending, and moves backwards to show how things got to this point. The experience one gets from watching "Memento" is similar to what Shelby experiences in the movie. A surreal trip, which leaves you dumbfounded at the end.
The acting in "Memento" is first rate. Guy Pearce is a very reliable and versatile actor, and this is his best role since "LA Confidential". Support comes from two very talented actors, Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss (both of "The Matrix"). Joe Pantoliano, oddly enough, further pushes his trademark. I won't spoil what it is (it would kill the plot), but think of what happens to him in the end of "Memento", and rent his other movies and see how they end up for him. Where the movie really stands out is the direction, which is a fresh approach on a very old concept (one man's revenge caper).
A lot of my friends didn't like "Memento", most likely for the reasons listed above. They were confused, and didn't like the way the movie repeated itself (remember, it moves backwards). True, you must pay attention while watching, otherwise you will get lost. But I encourage you to watch "Memento" with an open mind, it is a very rewarding experience.