Memento Is One Of The Most Clever And Original Movies Of The 2000s. Christopher Nolan’s 2000 Thriller Turns Memory Loss Into A Brilliant Storytelling Device, Creating A Film That Makes You Question Everything You Are Watching Right Until The End.

Memento Is One Of The Most Clever And Original Movies Of The 2000s. Christopher Nolan’s 2000 Thriller Turns Memory Loss Into A Brilliant Storytelling Device, Creating A Film That Makes You Question Everything You Are Watching Right Until The End.

Memento is one of those movies that really makes you work for it. Released in 2000 and directed by Christopher Nolan, the film takes the basic idea of a man trying to solve a murder and completely turns it upside down.

Guy Pearce stars as Leonard Shelby, a man suffering from severe short term memory loss after a brutal attack that also killed his wife. Leonard can remember his life before the attack, but he can’t create new memories. He may meet somebody and have a conversation with them, only to forget the entire conversation minutes later.

Because Leonard can’t rely on his memory, he creates a system to keep track of what he believes is happening. He takes Polaroid photographs, writes notes to himself and even has important information tattooed onto his body. His entire existence revolves around one goal, finding the man responsible for his wife’s death.

The brilliant part is that the audience experiences the story almost the same way Leonard does. Nolan doesn’t simply tell us that Leonard has a memory problem. He structures the movie so that we constantly have to figure out what is happening along with him.

The main storyline is told backwards, with scenes presented in reverse chronological order. Each scene gives us information that changes how we understand the scene that came before it. Just when you think you’ve figured something out, Nolan gives you another piece of the puzzle that makes you question your assumptions.

Guy Pearce is excellent in the lead role. Leonard is intelligent and determined, but he is also incredibly vulnerable because he can’t trust his own memory. Pearce manages to make the character sympathetic while still leaving enough uncertainty to make us question whether Leonard is actually telling himself the truth.

Carrie-Anne Moss plays Natalie, a woman who becomes involved with Leonard and may or may not be helping him. Joe Pantoliano plays Teddy, another important character who claims to be helping Leonard. Both performances are important because Leonard has no reliable way of knowing whether either person can actually be trusted.

Christopher Nolan’s direction is what really makes Memento stand out. This was only his second feature film, but it showed an incredible amount of confidence. Instead of making a conventional thriller and simply adding a character with memory loss, Nolan built the entire movie around the condition.

The movie also has a fascinating structure outside of the main reverse chronological storyline. There are black and white scenes that move forward in time, and eventually the two timelines come together. When everything finally connects, you start looking at the entire movie differently.

What makes Memento such a good film is that it doesn’t simply give you a mystery to solve. It makes you question the nature of truth and memory. Leonard is desperately trying to find the truth, but his biggest problem is that he has no reliable way of knowing whether the information he has collected is actually true.

There is also a dark sense of humor throughout the movie. It isn’t a comedy by any stretch, but Nolan occasionally finds humor in Leonard’s situation. Leonard can forget something almost immediately, which creates some awkward and sometimes funny moments. The humor works because it comes naturally from the character rather than interrupting the serious story.

The movie also raises some uncomfortable questions about revenge. Leonard believes that finding the person responsible for his wife’s death will give his life meaning, but what happens when you can’t remember whether you’ve already accomplished your goal? What happens when the search itself becomes more important than the truth?

That’s what makes the final revelations so effective. Memento doesn’t give you a simple hero and villain story where everything can be neatly explained. It leaves you wondering how much Leonard actually knows, how much he has forgotten and whether he may be manipulating himself just as much as other people manipulate him.

The low budget also works in the movie’s favor. Memento doesn’t need massive action sequences or expensive special effects. The story, performances and editing are what carry the entire thing. Nolan proves that an original idea and smart filmmaking can be far more effective than throwing a huge budget at a movie.

Memento was also an early indication of what Christopher Nolan would eventually become known for. His fascination with time, memory, identity and unreliable perspectives would continue throughout his career. You can see the beginnings of that style right here.

That’s why Memento remains such a great film. It’s intelligent without being boring, complicated without being pointless and structured in a way that makes you want to watch it again immediately after finishing it. The second viewing can almost feel like a completely different movie because you now understand how all the pieces fit together.

Memento isn’t really a comedy, but the occasional dark humor helps keep the movie from becoming completely bleak. More importantly, it is a psychological thriller that respects the audience enough to let us figure things out ourselves. It’s the kind of movie that stays in your head long after the credits roll, and that’s exactly what makes Memento such a memorable film.