Truly, utterly brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2001)

I had grave doubts going into this one. Its fans seemed to me to be the same people who like a lot of the movies I really hated over the past five years or so, movies like The Matrix, Run Lola Run, Fight Club, and many others. I avoided it for a long time, though I always thought I had to see it no matter what. And when the chance to see it for free came along, I jumped at it.
Fortunately, Memento lives up to the hype. It's one of the few movies that can. Seriously, I wouldn't doubt that this movie will one day be counted as one of the best ever made. Perhaps not the ninth best ever, its current position on the imdb top 250, but it will certainly have its place in the history books.
The main reason for this is its unique narrative structure. Add this one to the ranks of Citizen Kane for its high level of narrative innovation. What it does is it tells its story backwards. It will give us one large chunk of narrative information, stop, and then rewind to the last place Leonard (Guy Pearce) began his small chunk of memory. You see, Leonard has this condition where he has little short-term memory. After a few minutes, he forgets everything that has happened to him since a serious injury. He reminds himself of his purpose every time he wakes up in a new chunk of memory through hosts of photos and notes that he has written to himself. His purpose: to avenge his dead wife. She was raped, and her rapist knocked poor Lenny on his head. This condition, which is the foundation of the narrative structure, is clearly false. You just have to suspend your disbelief as you watch, and, I promise you, you'll see something very unique.
The best thing about this film is that it gives you some real mental exercise. It asks you to remember a large amount of information. Add to that the fact that not everything is trustworthy, and that truth and memory and facts and everything that we take for granted are constantly being questioned and warped, and you've got yourself an enjoyable uphill battle.

The rest of the film is equally commendable, which ought to be remembered as long as you can retain it. The acting is quite good, especially Joe Pantoliano, so good in Bound, and Carrie-Anne Moss, with whom I was quite unimpressed in The Matrix. Here, she shows that she can play a complex character and that her main assets aren't her T&A. Guy Pearce is also quite good, though he was perhaps better in L.A. Confidential. I think someone else might have brought a bit more depth to the part, but perhaps not. One of the most difficult things about his role is the fact that he really has no complexities - he's a blank slate. One could honestly call him simply a tool of the plot. However, someone who would say that would be missing the fact that he is often being used as a tool by other characters. Christopher Nolan is not just a master scenarist, he's also an excellent director. Also great is the cinematography, sharp color with some spatterings of black and white.
Perhaps there are some plot holes, but I didn't notice them. This is truly a masterpiece, a film to remember. 10/10.