Memento Review

I'm not sure there's ever been a film quite like this. It's an extraordinary experience, watching Memento. You probably won't follow or understand it all perfectly the first time you watch it, maybe not even the second time. But even so, you have to acknowledge that Christopher Nolan has done something incredible. He's effectively revolutionized the concept of storytelling with this neo-noir masterpiece. He's successfully - and quite near perfectly - filmed a movie backwards. Memento is truly one of the greatest films I've ever seen.

Continuing with my trek through reviewing the entirety of Chris Nolan's filmography before the release of Interstellar, I've come to his second movie. Memento is unlike any other movie I've seen in that it tells its story backwards. That's right. The plot is told from end to beginning. The beginning of one scene is the end of the next...try and wrap your head around that before reading on.

Guy Pearce stars in the lead role of Leonard, a man who has lost the ability to create new memories after he and his wife were attacked, leaving his wife dead and him with this unfortunate condition. He remembers everything before the attack, but everything that has happened afterwards just doesn't stick. Everyone he meets, everything he does starts to fade away as time goes on. The exact amount of time it takes for his memories to disappear from his mind is never explicitly specified, but it seems to be anywhere from a couple minutes to about 10 minutes. Obviously, this makes it difficult for him to live. One may begin to question their purpose in life if they were stuck like this.

But Leonard has given himself purpose. He has set out to find the man who killed his wife and left him with this condition. He has compiled clues over the course of his investigation, and in order to remember them, he takes pictures of people and places with brief notes on them, and he also has an assortment of tattoos on his body that remind him of the clues he has discovered.

This premise is quite enthralling. Right from the start, you feel compelled to join Leonard on his quest, and that feeling never fades. Memento is one of the most effortlessly riveting movies I've ever watched. You might think that the backwards storytelling would leave viewers frustrated, even put off from finishing the film. In reality, however, the nonlinear narrative acts as a method of totally engrossing the audience in the story. That's a tribute to Christopher Nolan's stunning ability to tell stories in the most innovative ways, while still keeping them utterly gripping.

You need to be actively watching Memento. This isn't a movie for casual viewing. If you look away for even one scene, you may be completely lost by the next one. It takes a lot of thought to comprehend. In order to truly follow it, you need to continually remind yourself of where you are in the story, and what has happened. It can be difficult to follow. I remember being pretty perplexed during my first viewing of the film. It takes effort to really understand. But taking the time to pay attention and piece everything together is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had watching a movie.

The acting in this movie is fantastic. Guy Pearce's work as Leonard is one of my favorite performances in a movie ever. He doesn't nearly get the credit he deserves. The supporting cast also does an amazing job. Joe Pantoliano plays Teddy, a guy who seems to be helping Leonard with his investigation. Though, after watching the first scene (which is the end, remember), you will be suspicious of him for the entire movie. He does a great job in a really underrated performance. Carrie-Anne Moss is also really good as Natalie, a mysterious bartender who decides to also help Leonard, but continually takes advantage of his condition.

I've seen Memento a number of times, but each time I seem to discover something I'd never noticed before. Even while rewatching it in preparation for this review, I found myself catching certain things that had slipped past me before. These things could be anything from a joke someone says to a major plot point. And that's something a lot Nolan's movies have. Plenty of rewatch value. Not just because they're so good, but also because there's so much in them.

The twist in this film is a killer. It's amazing how well-done it is, too. Everything makes sense once the twist is revealed. Often you'll notice that movies with twist endings will really start to fall apart when you examine them. However, this is not a problem for Memento. The twist works, and it only amplifies the awesomeness that is this movie.

Memento is a brilliantly constructed, wickedly well-written and impeccably acted psychological thriller with an absorbing neo-noir tone that courses through it. I find it difficult to rank my favorite movies, but if I were to make a top 5 favorite movies list, Memento would have to be on there. If you haven't seen it yet, then I'm not sure what you've been doing with your life. In all seriousness, this an absolute must-see from Christopher Nolan. I could go on and on about it, but I'll just end my review with this: prepare your mind to be actively interpreting and comprehending the many big themes that Nolan provokes and the captivating narrative structure he uses.

A+