See it Twice

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2002)

After my first viewing, I would have wondered whether to give it a 7 or 8. After seeing it a second time, I give it a 9.
The film asserts that the protagonist has a fairly rare mental condition resulting from a brain injury. He is able to remember everything up to the injury, but is left unable to process new information into memory. I made an attempt to find if such a condition really exists, and I believe it does. I do not think the following constitutes a spoiler, but if you are worried about it, just stop here and see the movie twice.
It may be that you too will give it a very high rating on first viewing if I tell you that the director-script writer (Christopher Nolan) and the editor have made the film as if they suffered from the same brain damage as the lead character. His inability to store new information means that there is no sequence in his mind as he is reminded of what he has never remembered by the notes and Polaroid photographs he has taken to substitute for the memory he has does not have. He boasts that he has an orderly system, but it doesn't always work.
The casting is great. Guy Pearce carries a lot of authority and charm, and Carrie Anne Moss is very good as his helper.