A wonderful premise done wonderfully

Rating: 9/10 (18 April 2001)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I heard about this movie. I mean, a story about a man with no short term memory trying to find his wife's killer, shown backwards in then minute increments.
Uh huh.
Sure.
After having seen movies like Pi and Jacob's Ladder, I have to say that I was concerned that this would be another art movie that emphasized form over content.
However, I needn't have worried. Memento is a true gem. The segments are strung together seamlessly, with the right amount of overlap for you to understand what's going on. However, it doesn't lead you along by the hand, either. I was kept guessing until the end, and, even then, it leaves enough breadcrumbs for you to follow a completely different trail than the one the characters on the screen found.