A must-see!

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2002)

Leonard (Guy Pearce) is an insurance investigator who's wife has been raped and murdered by someone. That someone also caused Leonard a strange head injury that does not allow his brain to make new memories past the incident. Leonard wants revenge on this man who's ruined his life, but he also has to get over the obstacle of his memory loss. So he takes pictures with his Polaroid camera and makes himself notes by Tattoo of who he knows, what he knows about them, who he can trust, who he can't, and what to do next. Along the way, he meets up with Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) who help him.
The major twist through all of the movie is that Memento is shown in clips, like pieces of a puzzle and you, the viewer, figure out how the puzzle fits together. There are two different types of clips in the movie, one is in color and is the story of Leonard's thirst for revenge, while the other clips are a telephone conversation that is shown is black and white. This is one of those find-it-out-for-yourself flicks that I certainly do not want to ruin, but be patient with it. I rented the DVD and had to watch many, many parts over and over to understand what just happened. Grab a pen and some paper, because this is a great ride.
As for the acting, let me start with Guy Pearce, the star of the show. What a wonderful performance, excellent emotion and frustration runs rampant in this film and he does it so well. To be completely honest, I think he should have gotten at the very least an Academy Award nomination, but this is the Oscars we're talking about and, well don't get me started. Next is Carrie-Ann Moss, from The Matrix fame of playing Trinity, but she plays the bartender Natalie and befriends Leonard on his quest of avenging his wife's murder. She also is very good with the frustration of the whole matter. Teddy is probably the most over looked character performance, he's played by Joe Pantoliano, who, incidentally has also played in The Matrix as Cypher. Joe does a great job of being annoying in this film, just like he was good at being the guy-you-love-to-hate in The Matrix (is that a good thing?). And how about Mark Boone Junior? I like him, there are a couple of scenes where he just loosens up the tension and emotion that drives the film, and they're just refreshing scenes to watch.
Memento is a very well done movie, but in the content area it doesn't fare so well. Memento has over 75 uses of the "f" word and 23 "s" words. The movie is saturated with them and the only way to get over them is to tune them out. Other words are used too, including the Lord's name in vain a few times. So, if you're sensitive to harsh language this is a movie you might want to pass on. That's not all, when Leonard is making notes from tattoos we see it. He takes out the center of a pen and injects himself with it, and it's not a pretty sight. The main reason this movie got an 'R' rating is from the language. The violence is really PG-13 type stuff.
Overall, this is a great great movie and I really do recommend you see it, especially if you like to be the sleuth on the case in trying to piece this whole mess together. 9 out of 10