Brilliant story & editing, falters slightly toward end

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2001)

I'm one of those people who don't mind a little extra length if the movie I'm watching is worth my time. Memento is definitely worth your time! It's gripping, it's a wonderful story, edited exquisitely. The use of continually working backwards in time, ending each sequence where the previous began, is brilliant. I'm sure I'm not the first to mention Hitchcock, but I'm sure he would applaud this film were he around. In terms of concept, this is better than anything else we've seen in years (yes, even The Usual Suspects).
Where I would not have minded a little extra time spent is at the ending. The filmmakers use the reveal process in a very innovative fashion for the entire film, then wrap it up with a bunch of exposition. What a letdown! I could feel our entire audience deflate when Teddy begins his big explanation, and Leonard follows shortly after with his. I really would have appreciated being SHOWN Leonard's history, instead of being told (why I watch a film as opposed to reading a book). This is where The Usual Suspects was better: the ending. In that movie, the exposition is a feint.
(As my wife pointed out, what makes the exposition at the end particularly disappointing is that it comes from Teddy, who we're not sure we can trust anyways. For those of us jaded enough to realize that we're in an expository moment, we just take the explanation at face value with a sigh or a groan. But for some folks, my lovely wife included, she was wrapped up enough in Leonard's story to still mistrust Teddy's explanation. Thus, she and others end up going "Hey, wait a minute, you mean NOW he's honest?!")
Still, a lot - a LOT - to commend. 8/10