Nolan's dizzyingly highbrow noir smash remains beyond compare

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2008)

In his debut feature Following, Christopher Nolan demonstrated a lucid fondness for film noir sensibility. Using fractured time sequences, delirious flashbacks and a reflective narration to illustrate an anti-hero's perilous obsession with following strangers, Following incorporated a variety of props, things and fragments of décor in the noir iconography that were underscored, naturally, by the film's 16mm black-and-white stock. These narrative and visual ambiguities would serve Nolan well in Memento. The cerebral psycho' thriller that would (1) defy the conventions of narrative cinema, (2) throw up a marvellous prism of manifold meanings and interpretations and (3) become a full-fledged classic of modern cinema.
With its wrong-way-round narrative structure, Memento is a maze-like, many-mirrored movie that's designed to absolutely stump the viewer. It's an often dark, sometimes light affair without a sense of time or place and without an air of fidelity or even resolution.
Beginning with the end, Memento, put simply, is a revenge tale in reverse that maps out onetime claims investigator Leonard Shelby's (Guy Pearce) path to kill the man who brutally raped and murdered his wife. The plot is not configured in this manner to merely show-off, though. There is a reason. For during the attack, Leonard suffered a costly blow to the head which rid him of his ability to make new memories. Don't confuse this with amnesia, though. He remembers everything prior to the incident, just nothing after. Imagine something along the lines of short-term memory loss. Alas, Leonard's forced to place what little trust he has in pictures of people and places as well as personal notes and tattoos that serve as reminders with regard to his progression in his manhunt.
Leonard's disability is pretty much beyond comprehension. Nolan demands via the fragmentally restricted narrative that we attempt to twig it on some level though. Which is why the plot make-up serves as kind of empathizer between us and Leonard. We're deliberately made to feel as confused as he is, so much so to the point that you'll begin to question your own views regarding every motive, detail, scene and character, Leonard included.
Opening with an extreme close up of a Polaroid un-developing, Memento's pattern of narrative progression is best described in terms of the film being divided into two main visual and stylistic categories.
The colour sequences take a subjective view on Leonard's quest as we witness the events that lead to the incident in the opening scene in reverse order. Each of these sequences, however, are spliced with objective, documentary-like monochrome sequences of Leonard discussing the details of his condition, his investigation and experience with a former client who suffered from a condition similar to his. These black and white scenes would appear to be in chronological order but at what point in the tale are they taking place? After the events in colour? Before? During? It's purpose in time does become apparent towards the end, well it's really the beginning but whatever- the final transition from chrome to colour is quite sublime.
The beginning of each coloured segment, then, acts as the end of the next. So every time a colour sequence is interrupted by a black and white one, the following colour sequence will map-out how Leonard got to the start of the colour sequence you saw last. Sounds confusing and believe me- it is, but you can't help but marvel at the film's ingenious scope and after a half hour or so, you'll all but get the hang of it.
Underpinning the film, in true noir style, is Pearce's unreliable yet commonsensical narration which guides us through the ground-breaking noir labyrinth with a cool and sometimes satirical tone. On his backwards journey, we encounter a variety of dodgy characters who appear to be out to support Leonard just as much as con him. From shady cop Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) to barmaid Natalie right down to motel clerk Burt, everyone appears to be out to exploit Leonard's condition on some level to reek their own benefits, Leonard included.
Sprinkled with sardonic moments and noir-esquire wit, the ambiguous script and performances further invite viewers to piece together a puzzle they may never be able to fully solve. And for this air of blissful uncertainty, Nolan has Pearce and Pantoliano to thank a great deal. How do you play a character with no memory? No ark? Spontaneously, I guess. Whatever the Aussie's methods- his performance within the role of Leonard is unforgettable. A poor choice of words, perhaps, but it's an appropriate lexicon when looking at Pearce's emotionally tangled performance. Honesty within dishonesty, idiocy within intelligence, Pearce's chameleonic quality means sheer purpose in a three-piece-suit which breathes new life to the cinematic anti-hero. As for Pantaliano, the casting of the coveted actor renowned with antagonistic roles is one of the film's numerous masterstrokes. Comical, deviant, sarcastic, cunning- Pantaliano's Teddy is an ideal metaphor for ambivalence- he's as much the anti-villain as Leonard is the 'hero.
Adapted from brother Jonathan's short story Memento Mori, Christopher Nolan's Memento could've been far too clever for its own good. That's a fact. But it isn't. OK, it throws up all kinds of riddles at the end, many of which will invite numerous answers and interpretations. This, though, is the mark of any good thriller- film noir or not. You know the kind of film that after watching, you just can't help but watch again? That's Memento. The kind of film you'll find yourself yapping about to friends, colleagues and complete strangers for months on end? Memento. The film that whenever you hear its name, you'll be quick to join the conversation, offering your opinions and views. You see where I'm going with this. Christopher Nolan's irresistible indie labyrinth is a bona-fide masterpiece of modern cinema that proves impossible to forget. It's a film like no other that remains, in my opinion, unparallelled in terms of style and originality since its release some 8 years ago.