How reliable is your memory really?

Rating: Null/10 (18 May 2002)

First off I'd like to start by saying that whoever made a comment prior to mine, Leonard Shelby's condition is that he has no SHORT-term memory, not LONG-term. If your gonna review the film make sure everything you know about a film as good as this was is right.
Memento is unlike any movie you'll see or have ever seen. The plot seems simple enough, but don't let that mislead you about the film itself. Memento is an original film-noir film adapted from a short story by Director Christopher Nolan's brother Johnathan Nolan about a man named Leonard Shelby who is an Insurance Investigator who finds his wife raped and murdered. Lenni (whoops sorry, he hates people calling him that) ah, Leonard intrudes on the rape and murder and ends up with a condition. This condition makes it so that he cannot make any new memories. Even with this new handicap of his he still wishes to exact revenge on his wife's rapist and killer. However, it's the structure of the movie that will leave you perplexed and questioning everything you've seen even after the last frame of film. The structure may seem complex almost as if it's non-linear, but it is in fact very linear. It has only been reversed so that story starts at the end of the film and works it way to the beginning making it so that the next scene relies upon the scene prior to it.
Director Christopher Nolan (Following, Insomnia), creates an orginal film-noir film where you the audience are literally put exactly into Leonard Shelby's shoes thereby not allowing you to be capable of empathizing with Shelby since you too are just as confused as to what's going on as he is. After thinking you've just about figured everything out about what's going on (although with this film even by the end that still shouldn't be possible) the film's "climatic ending" (remember this films goes in reverse from end to beginning) completely turns everything you thought to be true upside down and has you leaving the theatre questioning everything that took place.
Not that that's a bad thing though. I personally loved leaving the theatre after seeing that and continuing to try and make sense of it all. I think what I loved most about it was that it wasn't a straight psychological film-noir thriller. Nolan makes sure to add in snippets of humor throughout the film just to keep the audience from not getting too consumed in what's going on. For instance Leonard is hiding in the bathroom of a motel room holding a bottle of wine and waiting for someone (this obviously is not his room since he is hiding like he is waiting for someone who may know something). He looks down at the wine bottle and in a short voice over monologue ponders, "Hmmm, I don't feel drunk." Lines like that and, "Okay, so what am I doing? Oh, I'm chasing this guy. No, he's chasing me." is sure to get chuckles from the audience knowing how bad Shelby's condition is and the fact that one second ago he knew how he got into the situation he's currently in, but then the next he's wondering why something in particular is happening to him.
All and all Memento is truly a one of kind film in today's film industry. It's message is pretty clear in my opinion and that is that our memories are not perfect so how can we rely on it 100%? It may leave you confused and pondering everything that happened in it, but honestly: would you constantly always want to see a movie that didn't make you think about an important asset like our memories? There's something new for you to ponder.