Superb direction. Endless surprises. An utter classic!

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2007)

The opening scenes of Memento show a hand holding a photograph. Its one of these photos that instantly develop. The hand shakes it a few times. But oddly, instead of getting clearer, the picture fades. Only for that same photo to go back into a camera. Not out. The whole sequence is played backwards. And sets the tone perfectly for the film you're about to see. Memento may be a bit taxing on the old brain cells but its also one of the cleverest, and most ingenious films to come out of Hollywood in a good long while.
Memento is an extremely unusual film because of the approach director Christopher Nolan takes. Its a story that starts at the end and ends at the beginning. In this case we watch a man being killed, and then watch the story work its way back from there. Its an extremely odd approach that shouldn't even begin to work but surprisingly does. It adds whole new dimensions to modern film-noir, and transforms Memento into a true original. As well as a classic.
The story revolves around Leonard. A man who has lost his wife. And his identity. Leonard doesn't know who murdered her. Or anything else for that matter. Because a blow to the head has given him an odd sort of amnesia. He can remember everything about his life up until his wife's murder. He's incapable of sustaining short-term memories. He could meet a person and forget the reason for talking to them all within the space of the same conversation.
And when you're trying to find your wife's killer, memory loss is not exactly an ally. Instead Leonard has to rely upon tattooing important clues to his body. Or noting judgements and instincts on snapshots of different faces and places.
Before you actually sit down to watch Memento, it might be helpful for you to know something beforehand about the film's approach to storytelling. It will make it much easier to follow. Memento is made up of several continuous interconnecting vignettes. It could begin with Leonard walking into a hotel and killing a man. And then backtrack to how Leonard got to that hotel in the first place. This is the dynamic that propels the film, and once you've figured that out, Memento is not (quite) as hard to follow.
Christopher Nolan's direction is exceptional. For someone who was only just starting out as a filmmaker, he displays an astonishing knowledge of narrative structure. And because he's dealing with whole new aspects of storytelling, it makes his accomplishments that much more remarkable. And the way he follows the story backwards at little pieces at a time is amazing the way different surprises keep being sprung on us.
I'm hesitant to tell you too much because the film dazzles by the different narrative somersaults it constantly pulls off. This is a film that will shock and surprise right up until the very end.
Memento is an exhausting film at times. You may feel tempted to turn off the DVD more than once just so your brain can catch up. If you feel the need, by all means do so. Its Nolan's way of making us feel just as confused and as dislocated as poor Leonard. Its a sometimes gruelling experience, but in the long run it works.
The film would be nothing without the right actor at the centre of it to pull everything together. And Guy Pearce is perfectly cast in the role. He has an infinite patience, playing a role that must have no doubt been difficult. I don't know if the actual film was shot in sequence, but if it was done backwards then it shows Pearce is an actor with real talent. He was criminally overlooked at Oscar time.
There are lots of wonderful gems to pry out of this film. I love the scene that begins with a chase. And Leonard can't remember if he's being chased. Or if he's the one doing the chasing. Or when a character claims to have been beaten up by her boyfriend. She uses Leonard's memory impairment against him. Because the next scene reveals it was he who actually did it.
Memento reminds me at times of Groundhog Day. Where that was a man surrounded by a world that constantly resets, this is a man who constantly resets surrounded by a world that always moves on. Its an ingenious concept. The last time I saw a film that made my mind do so many flip-flops and somersaults was Being John Malkovich.
At the end (or is it the beginning?) of Memento, you will definitely feel completely worn out. And you may feel like you never want to sit through this film ever again. That's understandable, but Memento is a film that deserves repeat viewings, because it just gets better and better every time you see it. Its a completely original, modern day masterpiece. An all too rare thing nowadays.