A man's "memento" of his murdered wife is the fact that the sight of her lying dead was his last real memory.

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2003)

I have read some critic's remarks about this marvelous film, and
many complain that it is too complicated and incomprehensible;
well, it is supposed to be; and there is no need to see it a second
time if you were confused. The intention of the writer / director was
to show how life for us is simply a combination of short memories,
which we can omit, extend, devote our lives to, confuse ourselves
with etc. The film demonstrates wonderfully what chaos happens
when we lose these short term memories, and combined with this
is a refreshingly fractured plot, which we can make no sense out
of, like Leonard himself. We are cleverly and disturbingly placed
into the mind of Leonard and leave the theater wondering and
confused, just like he drives off with absolutely no resolution. Don't
we get tired of films that are resolved in the end?; our own lives are
mostly unresolved, and the film magically reflects this feeling. One
criticism I read was the question of why Leonard didn't use a tape
recorder to capture his memories; the answer is simple, and he
points it out in the film; if he lost it he would lose everything ( most
of his important facts to remember are tattooed on him for this
reason ), and also he realizes the sheer impact of visual memory;
his "records" are either visual or written on himself. Remember he
is a very intelligent perceptive guy, which is why he was good at his
job testing insurance claims; and he also repeatedly reflects the
importance of speaking to someone face to face...here again
comes in the impact of vision ( seeing the eyes and body
language etc ) ...this may be an indirect criticism of the growing
trend of Internet friendships and dating, where mostly you just see
or hear words. Another criticism raised by the well known critic
Roger Ebert is the idea that if seeing his wife was the last thing he
remembered, why could he always remember he had short term
memory loss? Well the answer to this is pointed out in the film as
well, and also when you understand short term memory loss the
solution becomes simple ( these talented film makers do
research, unlike some well known critics ). Leonard points out that
he is different from the poor guy with a similar disorder but who is
completely incapacitated, and ends up in a nursing home;
Leonard would have been told by doctors about his condition, and
he sees it as crucial to remember he has a problem, which is why
he is constantly repeating it to people and I'm sure in his own
mind; he is fighting it all the time. Also the experts say the
condition comes in different degrees, and that a good method of
rehabilitation is constantly repeating things and thoughts; he can
also remember where he parks his car, leaves his keys; everyday
things. The problems he encounters in the film are not everyday,
making his struggle all the more difficult. Therefore another
message we may gain is to admit openly that we have a problem
and not repress it, such as alcoholism. For me the film is
faultless. It is absolutely confusing and disjointed, even
meaningless on the surface; well to me thats what life is.