Memento (Special Edition) (DVD)

...the depth of its intricacies. Memento about a man named Leonard (Guy Pearce) who is from San Francisco. Leonard is an insurance fraud investigator, suffering from anterograde amnesia. Leonard suffered from extensive head injuries after he intervened on his wife's murder. Although his memory is intact, prior to the incident, he is no longer able to make new memories and suffers short-term memory loss. To compensate for his condition he uses annotated ...
...sequence, which becomes the climax. Memento is a creative movie that does not abide by the precedents of narration. Other movies have also changed around with the time and the way in which the movie flows, movies such as Peppermint Candy and Irréversible. If Christopher Nolan had not directed this movie the reverse chronological structure of the movie could have been an utter gimmick, however Memento's unique way in which it is executed helps us ... more

MEMENTO

DETAILS: Certificate 15, 113 minutes running time
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
STARRING: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano
RESLEASED: 2000
TAGLINE: Some memories are best forgotten
RATING: ********* 9/10

To call Christopher Nolan's film noir (Memento) a neurotic and mesmerising thriller would be attenuating the depth of its intricacies. Memento about a man named Leonard (Guy Pearce) who is from San Francisco. Leonard is an insurance fraud investigator, suffering from anterograde amnesia. Leonard suffered from extensive head injuries after he intervened on his wife's murder. Although his memory is intact, prior to the incident, he is no longer able to make new memories and suffers short-term memory loss. To compensate for his condition he uses annotated photographs and notes to remind himself about certain people e.g. on the back of Natalie's (Carrie-Anne Moss) photograph, Leonard writes "she has lost someone as well, she will help you out of pity." The movie focuses on Leonard hunting for the killer of his wife. He uses notes and tattoos to pursue this killer. It is a movie that requires concentration but with every passing scene it will make you itch for more and it will add a new twist to the plot. The experience of the movie is like being on a roller coaster: bloodcurdling yet composed.

Christopher Nolan deceives the audience through two strange ideas, which he has integrated into this movie. The first strange idea is that the protagonist: Leonard (Guy Pearce) suffers from profound anterograde amnesia, which means that Leonard is unable to make new memories. The second strange idea used by Nolan is, to tell the story in reverse sequential order. These two ideas may seem insignificant, however they help to put the whole movie into perspective.

The movie swerves between past and future incidents. The colour section depicts Leonard's investigation, which lasts between three to eight minutes; these segments are in reverse sequential order. Each segment starts with Leonard's memory "resetting"; leaving both him (and the audience) oblivious of what has happened or where he is. The segments end just before Leonard's memory withers away. The black and white sections are told in a chronological order, which portray Leonard in a motel room talking to an unidentified person. By the end of the movie the two sections (both colour and black and white) assemble into a colour sequence, which becomes the climax. Memento is a creative movie that does not abide by the precedents of narration. Other movies have also changed around with the time and the way in which the movie flows, movies such as Peppermint Candy and Irréversible. If Christopher Nolan had not directed this movie the reverse chronological structure of the movie could have been an utter gimmick, however Memento's unique way in which it is executed helps us to be put into Leanord's shoes and gives us a unique experience of the movie. The reverse chronological order of the movie eludes the dangers of preconceived notions.

Christopher Nolan is a kite flyer, weaving and soaring through the sky, taking his kite wherever the wind takes it, which symbolises the way in which Memento was filmed and directed. He is known for his particular genre of movies: mystery, crime, thriller and drama. Memento is a psychological thriller: In Memento you can see that Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) deceive Leonard through the manipulation of his mind. Teddy is a cop, a drug dealer or Leonard's friend, as he claims to be. Natalie seems to be an attractive yet mysterious lady sympathising with Leonard, or she could be a junky exploiting Leonard's condition and using him to kill two people, to whom she is in debt. The strange thing about these characters is that Nolan never really reveals whether these people are who they claim or whether they are not who they seem. This creates curiosity for the audience and we are left just as dazed and confused as Leonard. The density of the narrative is so complex and intricate that it requires your full concentration; if you cannot concentrate on a movie this is not the movie for you. Also if you need to go to the toilet, for a smoke break or a glass of water pause the movie. Missing one scene will leave you as perplexed as poor old Leonard.

The success of the film relies on two aspects; firstly, due to Guy Pearce's riveting performance and secondly due to the most fascinating screenplay you will ever see. Nolan went along with the unique plot of an unreliable protagonist played by Leonard to perfection because he is oblivious of many characters and their discussions. The expression made by him when he cannot remember something makes you pity him. Nolan knew that audiences would empathise with Leonard because of his condition and used that to his advantage in painting this artistic movie.

However, I was dissatisfied by Memento's conclusion. I felt deceived when I watched the first scene restructured as the last scene. I was expecting a huge twist in the plot as in other movies such as 'the others' and 'the sixth sense.' Although Nolan's intention was to leave an open ending, it deposed the gravity of Memento: which it possessed up until the finale. On the contrary Memento is a must see!

Report on Memento:

Script = 10/10
Actor's Performances = 10/10
Cinematography = 10/10
Special Effects = 10/10
Movie finale = 5/10
Overall rating = 9/10

Commentary for reading

My reading English coursework is a review on a movie called Memento. I decided to write a review on this movie after I had watched it for the first time. Its intention is to inform the audience about this unique movie Memento. Therefore I have discussed the unique structure of the movie.

The target audience for this review involves both genders because of memento's storyline and genre. The review is aimed at a diverse age range, however readers of movie magazines are generally people above the age of 16. In my review I have constantly reminded and emphasised the audience the fact that Memento needs full concentration; therefore I intentionally wrote "if you cannot concentrate, fully, on a movie this is not the movie for you." The audience also needs to be accustomed with the genre, therefore this is recommended to people who prefer movies under the thriller genre: as Memento is a psychological thriller.

My motivation for this review primarily came from my interest in the movie and the way in which it was created, edited and executed. I used sites such as "IMDB", "reel review", "total film" and "empire" to help me understand the way in which reviews are made. I tried to make this review as authentic as possible, so that it wouldn't look any different from reviews written in publications such as "total film" or "empire". I used graphology epitomising that of "IMDB's" reviews; for example I bracketed the actor's real name after his name in the movie i.e. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce). I also wrote Memento in italics to enforce the authenticity of the review.

I tried to elude repetitive tone, through the use of varied structure and length. For example in the first paragraph I use short and simple sentences to avoid an overflow of information for the reader. However whilst describing the structure, in the second paragraph I increased the used of subordinate clauses and commas to help the reader get more involved and to reflect the pace of the movie.

Due to the purpose of the piece my first paragraph aims to summarise Memento and give enough information to the reader as possible. As I was reviewing the movie my first paragraph contained positive lexis such as 'neurotic, mesmerising' this was to ensure that I was also analysing the movie without giving too much information and evading spoilers.

The structure of the movie review goes through five distinct phases: one for each paragraph. The first phase concentrates on information about the movie. During this phase positive analysis of the movie arises. The second phase focuses on the structure of the movie i.e. ' it is told in reverse chronological order.' The third phase's focal point refers to the actors' and director's roles in the movie. The fourth phase centres the success of the film, thus informing the audience about its achievements. The final phase gives attention to my perspective on the ending. I was disappointed and this allowed the review to become unbiased and balanced. Also I have structured the review into five paragraphs to facilitate the reader, as it is more readable. Had I not implemented paragraphs it would overflow the reader with information (although that is my purpose.)

In the first paragraph I portray the experience of watching the movie 'like being on a roller coaster: bloodcurdling yet composed.' These contrasting adjectives formed a juxtaposition, which I used to entertain as well as inform the audience.

Throughout the review I have used words such as 'portray, depict' to give the audience a taste of what it is like to watch it.

Overall, I do believe that this review would fit well into sites such as IMDB and reel review. If I had more time I would like to research about the movie's structure, as it is very intriguing.
Copyright: Cobainkurdt
Also published on Helium and Dooyoo

Summary: Memento - a great movie! 

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