But he can't tell if they work. Guy Pearce is frightening and likeable as Leonard, adding to the creeping sense of mistrust. Mistrust is the key word, what Memento is all about - not so much that you can never be sure if what you're told is the truth, although that's there as well. No, what makes Memento dig into the psyche is the nerve it hits which says, I think I can remember that. But I can't see it now.
Memento is a horror film in the true sense of the word.
It's got the premise to end all conceptual, noir conceits. Since then he's suffered from anterograde memory dysfunction - he can remember everything he learnt before the attack, but can't make new memories. So in the search for his wife's killer, he relies on polaroids, scribbled notes and a body covered in burning-biro tattoos. It's straightforward for Leonard - in his mind, he knows that he can only trust his own handwriting. If he wrote it down, it must be true.