Memento

2000’s “Memento”, directed by Christopher Nolan.

Starring Guy Pierce, Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss, Mark Boone Jr, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Jorja Fox.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Christopher and Jonathan Nolan) and Best Editing (Dody Dorn).

Have you ever been unable to remember something, and pressed on because you felt you were right? Memento is an example of how dangerous it is to rely on our assumptions. We meet Leonard (Guy Pierce), and determine (through 2 narratives that simultaneously goes backwards and forwards) that his wife was murdered. Since that event, Pierce has suffered from short term memory loss, making it impossible for him to form new memories. As a result, he constantly stumbles about in a memory fog, and uses polaroid photos, notes, and tattoos on his body to remember things and people. Pierce simultaneously spends half the film investigating whom he thinks the killer is, and the other half explaining his past life as an insurance investigator. Trained to investigate other people’s deceptions, he talks about individuals who no matter their conditions must face reality. Helping Pierce in the hunt for his wife’s killer is both Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss, who may have their own agendas in Pierce’s journey for revenge.

Nolan’s second feature film (after the promising “The Following”), was one of the best films of the year, a sterling twist on the traditional genre of noir that demands multiple viewings, at first to take it in, and then to appreciate the way the movie flows before ending in the middle (ish). Peppered with great performances, from Pierce, who fantastically spends the movie pretending he remembers people he’s forgotten (again), to a slick Pantoliano, who grows increasingly frustrated at what he’s created, to finally a sinister Moss whom it takes a lot more than a Polaroid to get a handle on. Christopher Nolan (with a script from his brother, Jonathan) creates something here that is mysterious, with some scenarios created from Pierce’s condition so bizarre that they’re comical, before we see the very heart of existentialism beating away under a fog of memory that leads to murder and denial. Adrift in the universe, we watch Pierce lecture others about how his routine keeps him tethered to the facts necessary for the investigation of his wife’s killer. But how do we know his system is valid? Is it based off scientific hypotheses that have been tested for accuracy and validity, or is it instinctual and based off of trusting people he wants to believe? Memento makes it’s point very clear, and while simple at times (try it in chronological order), it very complicatedly makes it a difficult film to forget.

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.