Fiendish!

Rating: 10/10 (2 March 2001)

Now for the sake of those who have not seen this film, I'll try not to give it away.
This cleverly constructed film stars Guy Pearce as a man who cannot form new memories after his wife was killed wherein he received an almost fatal blow to his head.
The film takes the viewer through a labrinth of cleverly and strategically placed twists and turns as the lead character with his memory problems tries hard to fit the whole puzzle together using polaroids of the people he meets and places he goes as he cannot trust any or to say the least, himself.
It is beautifully shot in harsh colours and black and white to signify his mood and confusion and to add to the viewers confusion, it starts from the end and works its way through to the beginning. But this is not too migraine inducing, as the director cleverly explains every new twist (which you get every 10 minutes or so) by 'telling' you what part of the narrative you are at.
What you might find the most amazing is that this film brings out several questions; Since he cannot remember anything that happens to him, who can he trust? Even after he finds his wife's killer and revenges her death, he wouldn't remember it anyway.
At the end of it all (which is the beginning) everything you thought you knew about the story is laid to waste because...How reliable is YOUR memory anyway?
Chances are you'll be trying to piece it all together months after you've seen it.