Christopher Nolan plays with memories and time to create a gripping thriller

Rating: 8/10 (2 December 2015)

Protagonist Leonard has an unusual condition; he can't form any new memories; anything that happens to him fades from his memory in a matter of minutes. He explains that he still recall events that took place before the night that he came home and discovered his wife being raped and murdered. He is hunting for the killer; to make this possible he must keep notes and take photographs to remind him who the people in his life are now, the most important facts he has tattooed onto his body. In the opening scenes we see him driving to a remote location with a man called Teddy; he looks through his pictures and on the back of Teddy's picture is says that he is the killer Leonard shoots and kills the man.
Because of the way the story is told this is actually the end; as the film progresses two narratives unfold; on, in black and white, moves forward, and the other, in colour, gradually moves backwards. As the two narratives converge we learn more about Leonard as well as Teddy and a woman called Natalie who helped him.
This early film from director Christopher Nolan is gripping and manages to avoid being too confusing as we gradually learn more about the characters. As time passes it becomes apparent that Leonard is a far from reliable narrator thanks to his condition. The way time is played with gives an idea of what Leonard's life is like; he can only trust his notes and what people tell him; not easy when his notes tell him not to trust certain people. When the truth is finally exposed it comes as quite a surprise despite hints that we have seen. The cast does a really good job; Guy Pearce does a great job as he captures Leonard's condition in a believable way, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano are also great as Natalie and Teddy. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody wanting a thriller that is different check this out; you might want to watch it again though as I suspect many details will improve on a second viewing.