Reviews of Memento

Neo-Noir Thriller

Posted : 11 months, 1 week ago on 18 January 2009 10:09 (A review of Memento)

Memento is presented in a nonlinear narrative structure that not even Quentin Tarrentino has thrown at us. The way it's presented and edited together really makes the viewer think about how they percieve their own memories and in the process throws a great movie out there too. Memento is a exillerating one time treat. It's a great puzzle film but also a not only a great puzzling film it has the aspects of an atmospheric thriller, making it an incredibly layered film. Unfortunatly confusion is a the key for watching this film so it doesn't entail many rewatches. Memento is just for every few years but when you do watch it you will love it.

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Re-watch Re-Wind Re-Emerge...

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago on 21 September 2008 03:03 (A review of Memento)

''Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts.''

A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.

Guy Pearce: Leonard

Memento is deeply psychological, as soon as it starts you can see in between the lines, the stylish layout and the Adult thriller Hitchcock-esque execution, that this is birthed from the mind of Nolan.
That being said Memento not only is derived from acclaimed Director Christopher Nolan but also Jonathan Nolan who wrote the short story Memento Mori.
Christopher does the Screenplay which to my opinion holds no faults, it's virtually flawless.

Carrie-Anne Moss as Natalie, and Joe Pantoliano as Teddy Gammell again show as they did in The Matrix that they have a knack for clamping down and getting roles in deep, challenging, twisty, intellectual pieces. Which also pretty much describes Memento to a small degree. They do a good job in showing no one can be trusted within the film and everyone raises more questions rather than answers.

''I always thought the joy of reading a book is not knowing what happens next.''

Guy Pearce the main focus and Leonard character of Memento, genuinely comes across as being a mysterious faceted three dimensional entity thanks to the mind bending script. Guy's narration really gives the film a gritty Film-Noir detective feel which really lifts Memento to dizzying heights.

We see his short term memory effortless put forth to us, we see his tattoos and his troubles state of mind. In this sense Nolan succeeds in using his tool Guy Pierce to as near success as heaven doth allow.

''I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning, even if I can't remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there. Do I believe the world's still there? Is it still out there?... Yeah. We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I'm no different.''

So what is the plot that Memento offers us?
It consists of an emotional shock that results in unhinged revenge, Leonard Shelby is now piecing back the bits of remembered past?
Or is he?
Is he alive? If we agree that a person doesn't exist as an entity without memory, existing in a uncanny state of limbo, and that this dead Leonard is watching his life flash by. It's a genius question which for all us deep thinkers allows for us to theorize on our own conclusions.

As all the pieces start to come together in this jigsaw, at the climax yet in the narrative's ascending beginning, Leonard is denied all the usual action of a hero's benefits and indeed rewards reaped: Increased self-knowledge, knowledge of the world and the plot of occurrences.
He is given the answers at the start yet only remembers the questions. Leonard at the end is a more coherent character than at the beginning.

Is this due to the fact we've given a mass of information by then and think we know him and his situation better? Or is he, as his narrative progresses, getting vaguer, moving towards inertia, the catatonia that finally swamped his altar-ego Sammy Jankis.

Our problem is that the film comprises not one plot, but four, all fragmented, full of gaping black holes, all mediated by this character who knows nothing. One is Leonard's narrative as he sees it, as he tries to avenge his wife's murder. The second is told in monochrome flashback (or whatever this is called in a film that runs backward), mostly told in mysterious phone calls, and seem to flesh out the gaps missing in the first plot, but actually creates more. The third is the 'real' plot that may have something to do with cops, snitches, femmes fatales, or may be hallucinated, misremembered by Leonard, or simply planted there as cover for another plot, or may not even exist at all. The fourth is the story of Sammy, who suffered the same 'condition' as Leonard.

All four unique strains are obviously connected with each other to create a discordant vision, but each undermines the other.
In a relative sense, hell is here, and Leonard is in hell. We can only take the opening sequence, where Leonard stands holding a fading photograph over a dead man's bloody body as the only reliable image, and in this image, another, the snapshot, is slipping away, untouchable, like Leonard's memory, like the film, like Memento. It's ending is in a sense a rewinding of sorts.

''My wife deserves revenge, whether I know about it or not.''

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Good thriller done in a interesting way

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 26 February 2008 01:01 (A review of Memento)

When I first saw the trailer for this movie back when it came out I thought the movie premiss was interesting.
Now that I've seen it I would have to say that that premiss was fulfilled.
Basically, as Prelude said, the story is done backwards where you see the end of the story first and the beginning last. It's a interesting approach that was done before in Irreversible but fits the whole movie.
Guy Pearce plays a man who is trying find the man who raped and killed his wife and left him with only short term memory unable to commit any new memories to long term memory. Beginning at the end is interesting concept as the audience knows what's the conclusion is but now have to watch and see how Guy Pearce's character reached that conclusion.
Acting by Guy Pearce was wonderful and also Joe Pantoliano did a great job as both brought their characters to life.
Sound was solid across the board with great fitting music that didn't force emotions or preempt what was coming next.
In whole Memento is a good thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed and a must see for all movie buffs.

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not much too added - excellent film

Posted : 2 years, 7 months ago on 1 May 2007 10:19 (A review of Memento)

I really don't have much to add to Prelude76's review, since I agree 100% with what is written. The story was certainly interesting and well directed. I can't imagine other actors in those roles. The editors must have enjoyed working on this film, since the story works backwards. It's a film that, finally, asks the audience to think, it's not just entertainment. The audience is captivated and engaged in Lenny's search for his wife's killer. Recommended movie, for all thriller and suspense lovers. (And I certainly will check out Nolan's previous film.)


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The perfect murder mystery film

Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago on 27 April 2007 01:05 (A review of Memento)

It's quite amazing how this film, based on a short story by director Nolan's brother, has turned into such a blockbuster hit. The film feels low budget as its a purely character driven movie and its all filmed on 4 or 5 locations; a motel room, a girl's house, a bar, an abandoned house. But three things make this the ultimate murder-mystery:

1. Acting is completely stellar by everyone involved, most notably by Guy Pearce and Joe Pantoliano.

2. The story is very engaging and powerful, about Pearce trying to determine who killed his wife while battling with short-term memory loss.

but most importantly,

3. The Direction of the film and its reverse-order story mode. For the ones who haven't seen it, the film follows Guy Pearce starting from the end, then each morning he wakes up is actually the previous day, almost like a daily countdown back to the start, when the wife got killed. It may sound confusing (and in a way, it is) but it has the added benefit of leaving the audience completely in the dark, as everyone around him knows what's happening while he (and the audience) are trying to pick up on all the clues. And each new day (which is actually previous day) gives new clues to the audience, and it just keeps escalating until the shocking end (or is that the beginning?) :)

Anyways, if you haven't seen it, go see it now. It's truly a film that will become a legend for a long time to come.

And if you have seen it, go check out Nolan's previous indie film, 'Following', which is a similar film-noir where he experimented with a non-linear timeline as well.

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