An absorbing, complex film noir that is marred by pretentiousness

Rating: 6/10 (21 June 2012)

If ever a film could be described as too clever by half it is "Memento". An undoubtedly entertaining thriller about revenge, it is a technically accomplished film noir that is over- reliant on its dominating gimmick: its reverse storytelling structure. That gimmick cannot, however, conceal the impression that, while it is a good film, "Memento" is really no better than many other films of its kind.
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and based on a short story by Jonathan Nolan (any relation, I wonder?), "Memento" has all the accoutrements of classic film noir: a seedy California setting; seemingly lonely and emotionally disturbed characters; motels that exploit their customers; and murder as a pivotal part of the plot. It tells the story of Leonard (Guy Pearce), whose wife called him Lenny but who likes to be addressed by everyone else by his full first name. Leonard is an ex-insurance fraud investigator. He has short-term memory difficulties - he knows who he is and can recall everything about his life before the incident in which his wife was killed. However, he has been unable to make any new memories since that traumatic event. His failure to prevent the rape and murder of his wife, and a knock on the head that he sustained during that incident, have induced in him a sort of reverse amnesia and left him with a single-minded determination for revenge. Hampered by his inability to retain new information, Leonard resorts to having his body tattooed (by himself in some instances; by a professional tattooist in others) with vital pieces of information that will assist him in the search for his wife's killer. He also takes Polaroid photos and writes notes to himself as a means of recording other important details that will help him, e.g. the location of the motel at which he is staying. Leonard is aided (or perhaps thwarted?) in his efforts by Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), a barmaid with a dodgy boyfriend, and by the mysterious Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). Natalie is the classic femme fatale beloved of all such films!
So, the basic plot - the need to avenge a terrible crime - is not particularly original. But the memory issue is. That, however, pales into insignificance when set beside the highly unusual structure of the narrative of the film. Time appears to move backwards and forwards in chunks in almost equal measure in a complex presentation of the chronology of events that is sometimes difficult to follow. The viewer needs all his wits and attentive powers about him to work out exactly what is going on and when. There is the added complication of a seemingly unimportant sub-plot concerning someone whom Leonard was investigating for possible insurance fraud before his wife's demise and who was apparently suffering the same memory difficulties that now plague Leonard.
"Memento" is an absorbing and entertaining film. It is beautifully acted by all concerned. Guy Pearce is superb as Leonard. He appears in virtually every scene in the film. His performance is such that the viewer cares about him and his crusade to avenge his wife's death. The film is well directed. And it is skilfully edited, something that is crucial to the plausibility of the plot, given the film's unusual structure. The problem is though that "Memento" is at times overrun by a sense of cleverness, knowingness and pretentiousness. I have no idea why, for instance, a number of crucial scenes (they usually involve Leonard on the telephone to an unidentified policeman who seems to be providing him with unreliable information) are filmed in monochrome. And while the reverse chronology of the film is unusual it does not really enhance what I think is one of the main messages of the film: which is that memory is a tantalisingly fragile aspect of human life, and that what and whom we trust are governed by all sorts of things beyond our control. So what we have here is an entertaining and fascinating film noir that, for all its technical accomplishment and wizardry, is just that: an enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable, movie. 6/10.