Jon Monsarrat review: arty but accessible & great thriller

Rating: 10/10 (13 April 2002)

Like "Training Day", Memento is that rare gem that succeeds both as a pure arty drama film (not my kind of movie) and as an action / thriller (that's more my style).
The film is original, very very original, and fascinating. Although there's no blood / gore, it is too scary for young kids, but besides that: perfect. The acting is great. Guy Pearce is definitely headed for an Academy Award at some point. The cinematography and editing are out-of-this-world fantastic. The story doesn't exactly have "something to say that changed my life" (see "October Sky", "Dead Poets' Society", and "Contact") but there are plenty of deep thinking intellectual issues.
One caveat: you will need to have your brain 100% alert to get the full impact of the film. For me, I loved that, but if you prefer to relax and just go with the flow you will probably get a little lost.
Who should see this film:
-- Everybody, it's safe for arty types who don't normally see thrillers
-- Everybody, it's safe for action buffs who hate arty dramas.
If you normally hate over-intellectual films that make you think too much, but you had to see one in your life, see this one.
I'll give "Memento" a well-deserved 10 out of 10.