My Review of Memento (2000)

 

Written And Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Leonard: "Now ... where I was?"

After the modest debut of Following (1998), the second directorial outing for Christopher Nolan also played into his love for the non linear. This time with bigger name actors and an American setting of course.

You've got Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby. He worked in an insurance company where he had been responsible for denying Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky) insurance and there was a few backwards conversations with Sammy's wife (Harriet Sansom Harris). Did she really trick her husband into killing her?

An important aspect of this movie was Leonard's memories. Specifically the fact that he was unable to make new ones. This resulted in him taking photographs of various people he's encountered as well as writing things down. There's also flashbacks to his wife, Catherine (Jorja Fox) and her rather brutal death.

Throughout the movie, there's two vital people that Leonard kept encountering and who were rather dubious, trust wise. There was his "friend" Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). The movie started with Leonard killing him and Teddy's backstory with Leonard was obviously told in reverse order.

There's also bartender Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). She was friend, foe and love interest for Leonard all in one. She also wasn't above using Leonard in order to try and get rid of her abusive boyfriend, Dodd (Callum Keith Rennie). The latter in particular definitely deserved to be taken out of the equation.

As the movie sprawled to it's conclusion, there was a tale of revenge that Leonard had embarked on. It was one that he even succeeded in but he had needed Teddy to fill in some of the blanks before figuring out the rest himself and accepting the consequences.

- The movie was based on Jonathan Nolan's Memento Mori.

- Parts of the movie were set in black and white and parts in colour. Leonard got a lot of tattoos that provided clues for him.

- Standout music: David Bowie's Something In The Air.

- Chronology: Set over the course of a nonlinear timeline in California.

Memento (2000) played with the nonlinear narrative a bit better than Nolan's debut. It's a hard boiled thriller with an excellent performance from Guy Pearce. 

Rating: 8 out of 10