Innovative and Clever, But Also Confusing to Viewers

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2019)

Leonard Shelby, who suffers from short-term memory loss, attempts to find the identity of the surviving thug who raped and murdered his wife (Jorja Fox) by retaining Polaroid photos and notes that are stuffed into his pockets, and by tattooing essential clues on his body. Although he was able to shoot and kill one of his wife's two assailants, the second villain caused him a serious blow to the head, damaging his brain. The police do not believe in a second attacker. As Leonard remembers the past before his wife's murders, he has anterograde, and not retrograde amnesia, and knows how to read, to drive, get gas, handle personal affairs, etc. If Leonard's conversations exceed 5 minutes or so, he will forget what the subject was to begin with. His personal struggles are obviously great. When he awakens, he has to determine where he is and how he got there. When a man chases him, he is at first confused and thinks he is chasing the man and wondering why. He knows the truth when the other man fires a gun at him.
To tell the tale, Director Christopher Nolan demonstrates an unusual take: there are two alternate timelines. They comprise a black and white part told chronologically and the color sequence division that is told in reverse (non-linear). They merge in the middle of the film although the black and white scenes continue to nearly the end. Each scene is divided into 5-10 minute segments.
The film begins in color with the murder of major character John Edward "Teddy" Gammell (Joe Pantoliano) and works backwards to show the events leading up to it. Leonard, in his own mind, believes that Teddy was one of two assailants that killed his wife. But Leonard is looking at the picture from his own (flawed) perspective. Teddy may be a corrupt undercover cop who takes drug money to enrich himself, and even uses Leonard for his own purposes, but he is no murderer or rapist. And the way the film is constructed, we probably have to believe Teddy's comments because there is no other explanation from the director. Nevertheless, Leonard wrote "Don't believe his lies," under Teddy's photograph, and Teddy was doomed.
Then there is the woman, Natalie (Carrie-Anne Morse), who also has her own agenda and definitely uses Leonard. Her boyfriend is drug dealer Jimmy Grantz (Larry Holden). Near the end of the movie, in the last black and white segment, Leonard murders (again) Jimmy because he thought that he was the man who supposedly killed his wife. During the confrontation, Leonard receives those two annoying scratches seen throughout much of the film. After that Teddy warned him to leave town, discard Jimmy's expensive suit, and drive his jaguar because he would be a sitting duck for dealers looking for him. Leonard ignores Teddy.
The black and white chronological portion explains Leonard's life as an insurance claims investigator. He has authority to handle the case of Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky), who has claimed short-term memory loss as a result of an automobile accident. After many tests Leonard concludes that Sammy's problem is mental, not physical from the accident, and advises his company to deny the claim. Later to test her husband, his diabetic wife subjects herself to a fatal test. Nevertheless, near the end of the film in a color sequence, Teddy explains to Leonard that Sammy was faking and never had a wife, and that it was Leonard's spouse who was a diabetic. Furthermore Teddy explains that it was he as a cop who was assigned to Leonard's wife's case. The two of them tracked down the thug and killed him. Also, he states that his wife survived the assault, and that Leonard invented Sammy's story as his own! Did Leonard forget to give his wife an insulin injection? Or did he give her too many? Assuming Teddy was telling the truth, why doesn't Leonard remember that his wife was a diabetic? Note that there is a color scene where Leonard lies in bed with his wife. He does appear to give her an injection in her right thigh, and right after pinches it. And near the very end we see tattoos are already on his body with his wife alive. She must have survived the assault.
The film ending is in color and shows Leonard driving up to Emma's Tattoo parlor. Guess what he will have tattooed on his body this time!?
The acting is top-notch throughout, as is the editing and pacing. The storyline is unique, to say the least, in the way the timelines are presented. Viewers have to pay close attention and trust their own memories when watching this one! I believe that there is a plot hole. Near the very end we see tattoos on Leonard's body with his wife alive. On the left side of his chest, a tattoo reads, "I've done it." (So he killed the thug who assaulted his wife.) But why is the particular tattoo missing throughout the movie? Anyway, Joe Pantoliano steals every scene where he appears. By the way, the movie doesn't say, but if this writer were a betting man he would say that Joe Pantoliano's character is called Teddy because of his strong resemblance to Teddy Roosevelt when he was a Rough Rider. Check out his old photos circa 1898.