A Film Noir Rubic's Cube

Rating: Null/10 (23 April 2001)

The cinematic equivalent of walking across a street filled with cars running red lights while carrying two bags of groceries and having someone walking beside you telling you that he is an eccentric millionaire and wishes to write you a check for a million dollars. In fact, an appropriate title for this film would have had as many words as the previous sentence, for "Memento" is much too simple a concept for this movie's storyline, which zigs and zags and goes backwards and forwards so much you will need a bottle of Advil and some ice. But even if you do walk away from the theater with a painful headache from all the confusion -- and I guarantee you you WILL be confused when the lights go up -- by all means try this brain teaser. There are too many movies out there that give away everything in the first ten minutes -- or even during the previews! And even if this film isn't entirely satisfying -- I think the "My wife is dead and I must take revenge" premise should be banned from movies for the next ten years -- it's still refreshing to be challenged and forced to work on a movie as you are watching it. Performances all around are first rate and the cinematography is excellent. But, really, all of that takes second place to the game that is this movie.