Brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 2002)

I have seen alot of movies in my life. I've seen just about all of the 'classics' ("Citizen Kane", "Gone With The Wind", "Casablanca", "Psycho", "The Godfather", "2001 : A Space Odyssey" etc. etc.). I've seen almost every single movie that has ever gotten a Best Picture Oscar, along with a seemingly endless amount of obscure, but great, movies.
This is my favorite movie of all time. I never thought I would see a movie that would come out this recently that would make me say that. This movie is truly, truly brilliant.
When it comes to movies, I am very critical. I don't just automatically say "Oh, I'd give that movie an eight or a nine". For me, a really good movie gets about a seven. If it is exceptionally good, eight. I gave "Memento" a perfect 10. This is a perfect movie.
I won't bother going into explaining the plot - you can read that anywhere. What I wanted to stress here is that this movie is so perfectly timeless. It will never be outdated. Better yet, it will also never be boring to talk about. There is such a large amount of psychology involved in this movie that it is impossible to catch it all by watching it once. Also, for that matter, "Memento" manages to take on different meanings when watched from the end to the beginning (which is proper chronological order). Suddenly lines that you didn't even think of as being significant are extremely crucial. So, to watch it once is to deny yourself of a large part of the movie.
That's because "Memento" isn't just a movie. It's a puzzle. You are required as the audience to fully realize what was just shown to you. You will be told about 80% of it by the movie (though not always in an obvious way) - but there will be some pieces that you will have to think about and realize afterwards. Of course this isn't the first movie to ever be like that, but "Memento" stretches the limits.
Also, every scene in "Memento" is essential to the grand scheme of things. If any of the scenes were left out, it would leave a hole in the plot.
I have heard the backwards storyline of "Memento" described as "gimmicky". However, if you truly understand the main character's condition, you realize that it is the perfect way to take the audience into his mind.
It's been almost a year since I first saw this movie, and I still find myself discovering tiny little facts that just make the movie even MORE interesting. When you have seen a movie about ten or fifteen times, rate it as being a "10", call it your "favorite of all time", and can STILL discover new interesting things about it almost a year later, then it is safe to call that movie brilliant.