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.

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.

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.

Report on Memento:

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.

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.)