Incredible.

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2001)

Few movies, in the last year, have really captured my imagination. With the constant stream of typical, boring movies with nothing but eye candy and a plot so loose and full of holes it's degrading to believe that any real thought went into them (and not just a series of cliches thrown together to make a movie), that I was so ecstatic when Memento was released.
This has been by far my favorite film of recent years. Everything is skillfully arranged. The narration adds a comedic and sometimes sad resonance to the film. The acting was great. Guy Pierce, formally in L.A. Confidential, was so believable and secure in his role as Leonard, that it was hard to imagine he was not experiencing his problematic inability to produce new memories. The movie is filmed in reverse. And of course, that means, the beginning is really the ending. But Memento is so wonderfully written, that even this does not really give away what is going to happen. And it is not this alone that makes Memento such a wonderful movie. The ride through Leonard's life in the past few days is so fun and full of interesting events, that there was never a moment that dragged or left the viewer with any sense that things weren't going somewhere. It is such an entertaining film that though it is a movie full of surprises, knowing them and watching it again does not hinder its ability to absolutely capture its viewer's attention.
Memento is a great film that should be viewed by everyone. It has writing and direction that is well beyond that of any other movie out right now. When this is released on video, I'll be one of the first people to buy it.