Truly a great film; a definite must-see...

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2006)

It's actually quite rare to see a full-blown character drama in this day and age, but that's exactly what "Memento", the 2001 film by Christopher Nolan, really is. I actually didn't want to write a review on this film for quite some time, because it was hard to grasp all the layers of the film, and believe me, there are many. Needless to say, though, this is one of my all-time favorite films, and it is truly a novel experience in film-making.
If you haven't seen the film, the plot goes like this: Leonard Shelby (played by Guy Pierce) is an amnesiac. Ever since an intruder broke into his home and murdered his wife (played by Jorja Fox), knocking him unconscious in the process (or so he would like to believe), Leonard is cursed with a fragmented and quickly-disappearing memory. He can remember everything that happened prior to the event, but everything that happens afterwards quickly fades away, unless Leonard writes a note about it. Throughout the course of the film, Leonard interacts with a variety of individuals in the search for the man who killed his wife, and in addition, an extraneous plot (from the audience's perspective for most of the film, anyway) occurs with Leonard remembering flashbacks about an insurance salesman named Sammy Jenkins.
It's hard to understand the film, especially since it progresses in a non-linear fashion. The movie runs "backwards", in that it shows a scene, then the scene prior to that one, then the scene prior to that one, and so on. It is difficult for the audience to understand what is going on, but it's possible that we are feeling the same way as Leonard: confused and disoriented. Even by the end of the film, some things still don't make sense, requiring multiple viewing to understand the motivations of all the characters and how they relate to Leonard.
Personally, I don't think Christopher Nolan could have picked a better cast of actors. Guy Pearce does an incredible job of portraying a helpless and confused man who is never quite sure of what's going on, but by the end of the film, the audience realizes just how out of it Leonard really is. I also thought Carrie-Anne Moss did a great job as Natalie, Leonard's lover with suspicious motives, and Joe Pantoliano as Teddy, a cop who is playing Leonard to his advantage.
It's a testament to this film that it works as well playing in a forward pattern (as seen on the Special Edition DVD) as it does when shown in non-chronological order, because it still manages to surprise the audience, and also shows how the other characters in the film manipulate Leonard for their own means.
The audience is right there along with Leonard as he struggles to figure out what the tattoos on his body mean, who his friends are, and how he can solve the mystery of his wife's killer. The only trick is that the "B-plot" of Sammy Jenkins, and Jenkins' wife forcing Sammy to do a test on her, is the real cause of Leonard's condition, and is subtly hinted at throughout the film. This puts Leonard in a new light and forces the audience to re-evaluate their opinion of him.
The directing and action are second to none. I think that Christopher Nolan realized that to tell a good story, you need a good plot, good interaction between the characters, and that you need to keep the audience guessing, something that is sadly lacking in many films nowadays.
It is true that if Leonard has a memory condition that causes him to forget things, he wouldn't be able to know that he has a problem, but I didn't notice that until the third time I viewed this film, and by that time it was just a minor distraction. Unless you have hours to try and dissect this film looking for anything that isn't true to real life, there aren't any real plot holes or inconsistencies in the film.
Bottom Line: Without a doubt, this is one of the best movies I've seen. It's hard to explain, but if you see it a couple times, you will understand what the film is all about. Rent this when you have a chance.