A fascinating puzzle

Rating: Null/10 (9 April 2002)

This film is a sequence of vignettes, shown in reverse chronological order, through which a murder mystery begins to unfold. The end of each newly witnessed scene takes us to where the prior one ends. Since the edges of the scenes overlap by a few seconds, we are able to piece them together to form a continuum.
Brilliant in concept, well executed and well acted, this film is a spellbinding puzzle that is engrossing from beginning to end.
Some critics of the film complain that the film's story would be simple-minded and uninteresting if viewed in normal time. I don't agree. In any case, the film's `backwards' format poses certain limits on story complexity because of the extra mental effort we must go through to piece the puzzle together. I think the film achieves a perfectly reasonable balance, considering these constraints.
Others say that there are flaws in the plotline; however I believe that a second viewing will convince most observers that there are explanations for most, if not all, perceived anomalies.
As Leonard Shelby, Guy Pierce delivers a fine, low-key performance: that of a man whose emotions are sometimes grayed by the trauma of a life that has come unraveled. Shelby is a man who is not completely innocent, but his life has become such a nightmare that he we feel sympathy for him nonetheless.
However the finest performance of the film is by Carrie-Anne Moss. In the character of Natalie, Leonard's flawed and tragic soul mate, she embodies anger, hatred, vindictiveness, sadness, compassion, and desperation. And all are portrayed without a single false note.
The movie is not perfect, and not for everyone, but I found it well worth the viewing.