if we can't trust our own memory, what can we trust? - "SPOILER"

Rating: 9/10 (12 May 2005)

Christopher Nolan is relatively new to directing, but created a smash hit with Memento. This film is puzzling to audiences all over the world, and no one can really grasp all of its detail without a second viewing. Memento explores a variety of themes such as self-deception, existentialism, truth and the capacities of our memory. In route of exploring these themes, Nolan is able to play with the very structure of the film and what the audience has come to understand. The main highlight that separates this film from many others is the use of time. This reverse order that is shown to the audience works to put the viewer in the shoes of the main character, Leonard. They live and see what he sees. Viewers only know the events that have just unfolded on the scene and do not know what led to it. This is an elaborate gimmick that significantly gets the audience worked up and makes them question more about what they saw and what does it mean. For instance, only seeing a main get shot in the head will make viewers wonder what lead to that ultimate crime. On the other hand, seeing a man with a gun pointed to his head, they can conclude that he will get shot in the head and so the viewer is already speculating what will happen. This same trail of thought can be observed elsewhere in society. When we meet new people, we see them in the current state of time. We do not know their past, but often wonder what led to the creation of this person that we come into contact with. Where did he/she come from? What has he/she done until this time? Even after getting to know a person, how are we to be certain that what they say is the truth? So the viewer, the reverse chronological order can be seen as normal. It's just the same process they go through in ordinary life, only highlighted in this film. Of the many themes, existentialist ideas can be found throughout the film. The striving idea behind existentialism is that existence precedes and rules essence and that humans have free will and are the ultimate judge. It also states that since we are the bear sole responsibility for our decisions and actions, we must also face the consequences. Leonard's decision to deceive himself can be understood similarly. He choose to give his life meaning, by sending himself on a wild goose chase leading towards this Teddy character. He is fully aware of what he's doing, and only in that moment, because he will have forgotten all about it later. We are never certain as to who Teddy was or even what he was doing with Leonard, but we see that Leonard is exercising his freedom and will face the situation of murder. After forgetting that he had deceived himself, he kills Teddy, and now he's faced the ramification of deceiving himself only ten minutes ago. Another scene that alludes to existentialist ideas is during the narration, Leonard makes the remark that, "The world does not disappear once we close our eyes." This follows the notion that with our death or unconsciousness, life does not come to a stop. Human existence continues to be. It follows the idea that there is no higher being and that we exist purely for that reason and that we make of it what we do and decide, and so after you close your eyes, life continues on with whatever decisions or actions you've made. If Leonard closes his eyes, it would not change the fact that he killed Teddy and that fact will still be there after he opens his eyes. It can also be said that we live a very fragmented life. Our society today has evolved into short snippets of sounds and visuals seen on television and the radio. We can never have a complete certainty over any of what we encounter each day. The truth remains hidden by the media. When we watch television, it's only a representation of what really happened, such as images of a crash, we don't know when, how, or why it happened. But we take it without question, the details that are given to us on the screen by the anchorman. We can only have truth in what we experience directly. In the case of Memento, we can only be certain of the live events that take place in color. Its fragmented order reflects how our lives too are in pieces. Only once we placed everything in the order we want will we get a message. It's possible to get more than just one message with different placements of order. For Memento, it's not just any order, it's specifically reverse chronological order. And so we get one concrete idea or theme. Other films such as Pulp Fiction have fragmented order, but not chronological or reverse chronological order. And so they would have a more open-ended theme that will bend and flex with the viewer that perceives it. The film also questions the reliability of our memories. It has been a well known fact that the human memory can be inaccurate and very subjective. Eyewitness accounts usually aren't enough in the court systems and can obscure the truth. Our memories can drastically alter the truth as implied by Leonard, "Memory can change the shape of a room. It can change the color of your car." In the case of this film, the viewer must decide whether or not Leonard's memories can be trusted, since he is the one with a long-term memory dysfunction. Nolan's fresh style has won over most of the viewers of Memento. Its unique approach to time is, without a doubt, innovative. The plot is kept relatively simple which helps focus on the main idea of timing.