Remarkable

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2001)

Memento is one of those movies that you watch almost all the way through without completely grasping the quality of the film you're viewing. It's a film that I went into knowing quite a bit about, but thankfully not anything that isn't already established in the opening scenes.
Everything in the movie sprawls out like a huge map to the solution of the puzzle. As I sat watching the movie, I thought I had the ending figured out numerous times. I couldn't have been more wrong. The movie is a true phenomenon of film and deserves to win many many awards. The story is great, character development is top notch and every character gets deeper and deeper as the story is told, the camerawork is great without being too artsy, the quick cuts work very well in both dramatic and comedic aspects. While the movie is suspenseful and dramatic, the comedy is top shelf. The comedic timing of the actors, combined with cuts at the right time make some scenes laugh-out-loud funny.
Joe Pantoliano is fantastic as Teddy, and provides much of the film's humor. Guy Pearce provides tour de force performance that won't soon be forgotten. Carrie-Anne Moss rounds out the top three billed with a quality performance.
In conclusion, you have got to see this movie while it is still in the theater. You will regret it for the rest of your days if you don't see it. My favorite film in 99 was Fight Club, last year it was O' Brother, Where Art Thou?, and I think it's safe to say that Memento has gotten the nod for my favorite film of 2001