Perfection

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2010)

This is why you watch movies. You watch hundreds upon hundreds of movies hoping to someday find a gem like Memento. This is, quite simply, the perfect movie.
The less said about the plot the better. Best to let you try to put this movie's puzzle together yourself. And what an ingeniously crafted puzzle it is. Anyone who saw this movie upon its initial release knew writer/director Christopher Nolan was a filmmaker destined to do great things. And we all know how that's turned out. Along with his brother Jonathan, writer of the original short story upon which the screenplay is based, Christopher Nolan here has crafted a story which seems impossibly complex but which is actually rather simple. It is the manner in which Nolan chooses to allow that simple story to unfold which is the genius of the film. The story is so engaging and so brilliantly put together that when the movie ends you desperately want to see it again. Immediately. You can't pay a movie any higher compliment than that.
Memento centers around the character of Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce in what is an absolutely stunning performance. Leonard is out for revenge, hunting down the man who murdered his wife. But Leonard's investigation is hampered, to say the least, by the injury he sustained on the night his wife was attacked. He has no short-term memory. He remembers everything up to the attack. But he can't make new memories. Everything fades away. If he meets someone he won't remember them minutes later. And Christopher Nolan ingeniously puts us right inside Leonard's head. How? By telling the story backwards. We begin at the end and work our way towards the beginning. So as we see events unfold we, like Leonard, do not know what has happened beforehand. The effect is downright brilliant. Leonard will be helped by two people in his quest for vengeance. First is the mysterious Teddy, played by Joe Pantoliano. Who is this guy and why is he helping Leonard? Because the movie begins at the end we know right away something is not right about Teddy. And you can't wait for the story to unravel itself to find out how we get to that end. Also providing assistance to Leonard is a bartender named Natalie, played by Carrie-Anne Moss. Much like Teddy it seems Natalie has her own motives for helping Leonard. Who is this woman and what exactly is she playing at? Part of the thrill of watching the film is finding the answers to those questions.
So there's the plot, a seemingly simple story told in a wonderfully unique way. Needless to say the story is not nearly as simple as it seems. There are so many twists and turns but best to let you discover those for yourself. It really is a perfectly constructed puzzle. Everything has to fit just so, any small mistakes anywhere along the way could have sunk the whole thing. There are no mistakes. It's perfect. There are really only three major roles and they're all performed wonderfully. Pantoliano and Moss are very good but Pearce is truly spectacular. What a challenging role to play and he pulls it off brilliantly. Great actors performing a great story...that's generally the formula for an exceptional film. And that is the case here. Memento was nominated for the Oscar for best screenplay. It lost to Gosford Park. Does anyone even remember Gosford Park? Nobody who sees Memento will ever forget it. This movie will live forever. You'll want to see it again and again and again. It is the perfect movie.