Brilliant, unbelievably fresh story

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2001)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I watched this movie today and I must say I am still thinking about it hours after finishing it. It is unique and fascinating. Guy Pierce portrays Leonard Shelby, a man who's life was changed forever when intruders raped and murdered his wife , just feet from where he slept. The same intruders took Leonard's short-term memory with a hard blow to his temple. Leonard has a short 15 or less minute span in which he can remember things (less in anxious situations), after that he must remind himself of what has happened in his life up to this point with little scraps of paper and a polaroid camera that he always carries with him. Leonard had made it his goal to find and kill the man that put his wife through a gruesome rape and murder. One of the best parts that really integrates the movie and the viewer is how the story is told.
Backwards.
The beginning is the end. It begins with the climax of the story and Leonard putting to death the person (Teddy) he believes murdered/raped his wife. The beginning is amazing and I found my mind racing, wondering why the picture was reverse-exposing itself and scene reversing while the opening credits were rolling. This movie has a sort of authenticity and uniqueness about it that I have yet to see since a movie named Fight Club. I think real thought and effort can only go into movie if you have limited money and resources to work with, it breeds creativity. Big budget movies like Pearl Harbor pale in comparison and only gain audiences through high dollars budgets and millions spent in advertising and top dollars actors. Memento is a MUST SEE of this year, It's a movie that requires thought throughout, and every viewer becomes Leonard Shelby, because of the sections - the sections are Leonards life
EXCELLENTLY FRESH MOVIE 10/10
"Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts."