Unique, challenging, and rewarding

Rating: 9/10 (19 October 2004)

Memento is a brilliantly conceived Chinese box puzzle of a movie. It tells of Leonard Shelby (played by Guy Pearce) who, due to a brain injury, is unable to form new long-term memories. Every time he wakes up he has to rediscover his life and his quest, based on notes, photographs, and tattoos he has created for the purpose. The movie starts at the end and works backwards--most scenes begin with Leonard gathering the threads of his life together. The next scene then shows how he got to the beginning of the last scene. It's an unsettling technique, but it is also a marvelous idea, because it puts the viewer in a similar situation to that of Leonard. When he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is, and we don't, either. This is a unique conception, and it makes a movie not to be missed. Unfortunately, it is also rather unsavory, full of violence and murder; but it also comes to a piquant and satisfying conclusion. It's only later that one begins to pick apart the logic. Not for all tastes, and some viewers will start completely lost and never figure out what the heck is going on. But for those up to its challenges, Memento is a unique viewing experience.