Better and Better

Rating: 8/10 (5 October 2003)

A man who has lost forever his ability to make new memories, seeks the killers of his wife.
Brilliant, it just doesn't get old. I don't usually go in for gimmicks, because they are usually retreads of a previous gimmick. But I don't think anyone ever tried making a film like this before. How do you let the audience share in the main dude's memory afflition? Well its simple, do what Nolan did. I think to spell it out takes away if you have never seen it. But on a dry run, you will be knocked over. Movies just so rarely can be seen as a singular experience anymore. I think this film more than deserves the unending praise it receives. Pearce was born to play Leonard, and Pantoliano does what he was born to do, play the rat you kind of like, but mostly hate. See, this is why the Oscars to me are such a bad joke. This was by far the best picture of 2000, and probably the best picture since. But they never see fit to reward a film for any of the right reasons. And they don't seem to be heading in that direction.