Confusing and Complicated? Yes. Thought Provoking and Unique? Absolutely.

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2017)

Before his days of Batman, Inception and Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan started off making low budget independent neo-noir crime dramas. The one that kickstarted his acclaimed career however is a movie based on a short story from his brother Jonathan called Memento. Praised by critics and audiences upon its release, this movie became so beloved across the world that Nolan himself even got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay (as well as Best Editing for Dody Dorn), and watching the movie recently, it really holds up as a complex unconventional crime story.
The movie focuses on a man with short term memory loss named Leonard. Some criminals made him amnesic by knocking him out, but they also killed his wife which causes Leonard to search endlessly for who they were by using Polaroid photographs and tattoos to track down information he soon forgets. Basic enough narrative, yet the movie is presented in two different ways. One is a conventional series of black-and-white flashbacks where the other is an unconventional series of color sequences shown in reverse chronological order (simulating for the audience the mental state of the protagonist), while still completing a cohesive albeit complex narrative.
While it can turn off some viewers, the innovative structure is bound to really capture ones interest in the story to see what led to Leonard's conclusion on the person who murdered his wife and ruined his life. The puzzle pieces connect together well and there's never one moment where the viewer is not curious to wonder what's the cause of each individual moment. Thus, the narrative is confusing, but it makes sense because we are living in the mind set of Leonard, and considering how forgetful he is while trying to solve the case, it fits the complicated albeit gripping path Leonard goes through that lets the audience relate and sympathize with him.
Along with a story that will constantly have viewers guessing, the characters also keep on track. Even though he is stuck in his own mind, Leonard has no choice since the few decent memories he has left are what lead him to finding the cause of the murderer, thus making him worth rooting for and feel sorry for. You want him to succeed in his task, but you also wish he could just seek the proper help to make him function better in the world. Along with a tightly stellar performance by Guy Pierce, Leonard embodies both the intellectual anti hero and the troublesome victim in his endless search to avenge his late loved one.
The rest of the characters are all obstacles for Leonard in his search, whether it be helping him, being supportive from flashbacks, or being straight up offenders. The supporters like Natalie and Teddy are good supporting characters, but they also have their own dilemmas of their own which either shape Leonard or conflict with him. The offenders like Dodd and Jimmy have their tendencies to get rid of Leonard for trying to seek his revenge, but their presence one further brings Leonard to wonder if they killed his wife or not. Add on great performances from Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Larry Holden and you've got a cast that you won't want to forget about anytime soon.
Personally, I think this could be Nolan's best work alongside The Prestige. When you work independently on a low budget, you tend to be more creative and improvisational with your work since you can only work with so much, and Memento is the perfect mesh of a thrilling script that will always keep the viewer guessing and relying more on brisk cinematography and psychological momentum than big budget practical effects and a grim style. Christopher Nolan kept me guessing throughout the feature without going overboard with the story, and he'll keep you guessing the more times you watch it. Check out Memento on Netflix and get ready for a nonstop thrill ride that will cause you to think the whole way through.