Memento - Review

“Memento”

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” is an “Oh my God” movie. It’s so good I coined the term right after I watched the movie while thinking of a good way to describe it. What is an “Oh my God” movie? A great movie where, when the big twist happens, your jaw drops and you say “Oh my God!” or something to that effect.

I didn’t think I could get excited enough for Nolan’s upcoming “The Dark Knight,” but after seeing this movie I have somehow become even more anxious. I’m not going to beat around the bush – “Memento” is one of the two best thrillers I’ve seen, the other being “Se7en.” It’s a psychological thriller with a massive twist and a distinct filming style that sets it apart from other films of the genre. “Memento” tells the story of Leonard, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, a form of short-term memory loss. He was injured while fending off a man who was attacking his wife. Leonard cannot form new memories and forgets things after just a few minutes, although he can remember everything that happened before the incident. The central conflict concerns Leonard searching for the man who he thinks killed his wife. How can he do this with no ability to form new memories? Leonard writes himself copious notes, both on paper and tattooed to his body, to keep track of people he knows, places he’s been, and clues while hunting for the killer. This makes for an interesting movie in itself, but it’s the filming style that puts the icing on the cake. The movie is filmed in alternating 5-to-10 minute sequences in color followed by 1-minute or so black-and-white sequences. Here’s the kicker – while the black-and-white sequences, mainly featuring Leonard talking to someone on the phone, go chronologically forward, the colored sequences are filmed in backwards chronology. This essentially leaves the audience as clueless as Leonard as we try to piece together our own puzzle. If this all sounds confusing to you, don’t worry; I thought I would be extremely confused while watching but it turned out I followed the story just fine. The movie makes its way toward a “conclusion” which really happens at the chronological beginning with perfect pacing.

This is not a big-name cast at all but it doesn’t matter. Guy Pearce is perfectly cast and hauntingly good as Leonard in a very difficult role. I’m sure it’s not easy to portray a guy who can’t make new memories, but Pearce is just about perfect here. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano give nice performances as Natalie and Teddy, respectively. Pantoliano in particular really shines as someone who appears to be Leonard’s friend…but is he really? (Oh, the suspense.) And Nolan is a revelation here in his first major film. “Memento” is similar to one of Nolan’s other films, “The Prestige,” in that once it ends you’ll undoubtedly want to watch it again. It’s a psychological thriller that takes an unconventional route toward its ending, but stands out among the best films of its genre. Don’t miss this one.