Unforgettable

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2016)

Stone cold perfect. When I finished watching this movie, I wrote down those words, so I wouldn't forget them when I did this review. No other three words could more accurately describe this movie. It may not be the flashiest, most spectacle-filled movie ever made, but it is one that leaves you thinking, That is great art. This may not be the absolute greatest movie Chris Nolan has ever made, but it is the most restrained, organized, and complete.
The basic story: a man with anterograde amnesia (a condition where you can't make new memories) is trying to track down the man who killed his wife. On its face, this is a simple revenge story. But this movie is far more than its face.
Color and black-and-white sequences are interspersed. The color sequences go in reverse chronological order from the end, whereas the black-and-white sequences go in normal chronological order fro0m the beginning. This may seem complicated, but it's really not. There not only was not a better way to tell this story, there was not another way to tell this story at all. It is not a gimmick, as its deriders have called it; it was the only way to go.
When the two sequences come together at the end of the 120-minute running time, you will be shocked and amazed. I was. This is not the kind of twist that can be easily spoiled. I suppose you could look it up, but even if you did, it wouldn't mean all that much to you. It's something- like the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramids- that must be experienced.
This is the Nolan film that caught the world's attention. This is the Nolan film that exploded into the stratosphere. In film critic circles, it was all, 'Have you seen Memento?' After this, he got funding and ran with it. In a way, Inception and Interstellar and all those Batmans were made because of this film. There are not many examples of good artists winning out and being allowed to produce more good art.
Technically, this film is part of the stellar 2001 crop of films, despite the fact that it came out in 2000 in Venice. This is kind of annoying, but it does give me an opportunity to show how broken the Oscars are. Both this film and Amelie were nominated for Best Original Screenplay. I would have been fine with either one winning. But neither of them won, an honor that goes to Gosford Park, a film I had never even heard of until I researched this.
The words 'psychological horror' are tossed around a lot these days. I'm willing to bet one out of every three or four horror movies that classify itself as psychological horrors. Hah. Hah, hah, hah. Those are psychological horror films in the same way that M. Night Shyamalan's pathetic Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation is an epic.
This, my good friends and loyal readers, is a true psychological horror movie. It is not a horror movie in terms of tropes or the traditional definition of the genre, but it terrifies me more than any amount of blood and guts and jump scares or shaky cam could in a million years. I feel true fear whenever I watch this because it understands what fear is. Fear is not a physical thing, like a rock or brick or castle. It is immaterial. Like the wind, it takes not shape or form or identity. It is a response to danger and confusion. The more someone understands that, the more their film can manipulate it. And Chris Nolan- as well as his brother Johnathan, who wrote the story that inspired this film- understands that.
Let me say that the film looks gorgeous. There are few things that look sharper than modern black-and-white filming (I would love to see that black-and-white cut of MM:FR) and the color scenes are sweeping and elegant and mysterious. Wally Pfister is a master of unshowy but well-done cinematography. His camera-work makes you see what Nolan wants you to see. It is sharp and dreamy yet focused. He is to Chris Nolan what John Williams is to Steven Spielberg. None of Nolan's films would be as good as they are without his camera.
The music is not outlandish or bombastic, but subtle and story-serving: perfect for a film like this. The acting is not amazing, but it is rock-solid and far better than could be expected given the film's budget. The screenplay is amazing in every way possible. You want tight? It's tight. You want innovative? It's innovative. You want twist-filled? It's twist-filled. If I made a list of the greatest screenplays of all time, this would be close to the top.
I honestly struggle to come up with something bad about the film. There are nineteen films I like better this, but none of them have as few issues as this one. This is Nolan at his best and sharpest. All of his strengths are at their highest, and all of his weaknesses are at their lowest.
If you want to get up feeling refreshed and happy, this isn't the movie to pop in. It is Nolan's most R-rated movie by far, and the ending (which I will not dare spoil for you) is a downer to be sure. But if you want to be hypnotically immersed in a masterwork by possibly the most talented auteur working today, watch it.
This is one of those films that blows you away even when you expect it to be great. That is rare.