Stunning Work, Nolan is Amazing

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2003)

Memento is about Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man who lost his short term memory after being jumped from behind while attacking his wife's rapists/murderers. He spends his life as a drifter, trying to hunt down the man responsible (I'm pretty sure he shot the first of the two rapists - I can't remember now). Because of his condition, he must carry a series of sticky notes and photos to remind himself of where he is and what he's doing; his life is heavily based on routine.
Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) is apparently Leonard's somewhat annoying friend. He tries to help Leonard track this man down, while simultaneously looking out for him, warning him to stay away from Natalie (Carrie-Ann Moss), who he says is only trouble. She says the exact opposite.
The trick to this movie is, aside from black-and-white interludes of Leonard on the phone with a stranger, the whole thing goes backwards; i.e., the beginning of each scene coincides with the end of the scene which you will see next. Chris Nolan wrote and directed this little gem; I don't think anyone but the guy who wrote it could grasp it enough to bring it to life.
As far as the plot and dialogue goes, it is actually original enough to where it could be good without the backwards progression - i've never seen such a crime-thriller with a character with such a condition. But the fact that Nolan shot this backwards, and made it work, makes this not good, but great. This is a thinking movie - if you just got off Friday from a long week at work and want to relax with a movie, don't rent this. Memento would be best on weekends when you and preferably a group of people have time to watch it over and try to figure it out.
Added bonus on the DVD - there's a second version of the movie that plays forward, so you can see the scenes in chronological order.
And kudos to the cast, especially Pantoliano. He tends to steal the show in his scenes.