... Memento is one such film.
PLOT
Essentially this is about revenge Leonard Shelby an insurance investigator is trying to discover who raped and murdered his wife. A hard task in the best of circumstances but Leonard has an extra problem. During the attack he suffered head injuries, which ... Read review
An absolute stunner of a movie,Mementocombines a bold, mind-bending script with compelling ... more
action and virtuoso performances. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" that ...
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An absolute stunner of a movie,Mementocombines a bold, mind-bending script with compelling ... more
action and virtuoso performances. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" that ...
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From director Christopher Nolan a unique and intriguing thriller that begins with the ... more
ultimate act of revenge and backtracks through time to reveal the shocking and provocative reasons behind it. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) remembers everything up t...
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Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) remembers everything up to the night his wife was brutally ... more
raped and murdered. But since that tragedy, he has suffered from short-term memory loss and cannot recall any event, the places he has visited or anyone he has met j...
An absolute stunner of a movie,Mementocombines a bold, mind-bending script with compelling ... more
action and virtuoso performances. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" that robbed Leonard of his wife also stole his ability to make new memories. Unable to retain a location, a face, or a new clue on his own, Leonard continues his search with the help of notes, Polaroids, and even homemade tattoos for vital information. Because of his condition, Leonard essentially lives his life in short, present-tense segments, with no clear idea of what's just happened to him. That's whereMementogets really interesting; the story begins at the end, and the movie jumps backward in 10-minute segments. The suspense of the movie lies not in discovering what happens, but in finding out why it happened. Amazingly, the movie achieves edge-of-your-seat excitement even as it moves backward in time! , and it keeps the mind hopping as cause and effect are pieced together.Pearce captures Leonard perfectly, conveying both the tragic romance of his quest and his wry humour in dealing with his condition. He is bolstered by several excellent supporting players including Carrie-Anne Moss, and the movie is all but stolen by Moss' fellowMatrixco-star Joe Pantoliano, who delivers an amazing performance as Teddy, the guy who may or may not be on his side.Mementohas an intriguing structure and even meditations on the nature of perception and meaning of life if you go looking for them, but it also functions just as well as a completely absorbing thriller. It's rare to find a movie this exciting with so much intelligence behind it. --Ali Davis, Amazon.comOn the DVD:this amazing movie looks crisp and clean in a good anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) picture accompanied by Dolby 5.1 sound. The menu is almost as baffling as the movie itself, but once you master the navigation you'll find interviews, biographies, a tattoo picture gallery and the shooting script among other extras. Most mind-boggling of all, however, is the "Memento Mori" option in the special features menu, which allows you to play a specially re-edited version of the movie in chronological order, beginning with the end credits running backwards! --Mark Walker
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
An absolute stunner of a movie,Mementocombines a bold, mind-bending script with compelling ... more
action and virtuoso performances. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" that robbed Leonard of his wife also stole his ability to make new memories. Unable to retain a location, a face, or a new clue on his own, Leonard continues his search with the help of notes, Polaroids, and even homemade tattoos for vital information. Because of his condition, Leonard essentially lives his life in short, present-tense segments, with no clear idea of what's just happened to him. That's whereMementogets really interesting; the story begins at the end, and the movie jumps backward in 10-minute segments. The suspense of the movie lies not in discovering what happens, but in finding out why it happened. Amazingly, the movie achieves edge-of-your-seat excitement even as it moves backward in time! , and it keeps the mind hopping as cause and effect are pieced together.Pearce captures Leonard perfectly, conveying both the tragic romance of his quest and his wry humour in dealing with his condition. He is bolstered by several excellent supporting players including Carrie-Anne Moss, and the movie is all but stolen by Moss' fellowMatrixco-star Joe Pantoliano, who delivers an amazing performance as Teddy, the guy who may or may not be on his side.Mementohas an intriguing structure and even meditations on the nature of perception and meaning of life if you go looking for them, but it also functions just as well as a completely absorbing thriller. It's rare to find a movie this exciting with so much intelligence behind it. --Ali Davis, Amazon.comOn the DVD:this amazing movie looks crisp and clean in a good anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) picture accompanied by Dolby 5.1 sound. The menu is almost as baffling as the movie itself, but once you master the navigation you'll find interviews, biographies, a tattoo picture gallery and the shooting script among other extras. Most mind-boggling of all, however, is the "Memento Mori" option in the special features menu, which allows you to play a specially re-edited version of the movie in chronological order, beginning with the end credits running backwards! --Mark Walker
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Some secrets should never be revealed... When Min-Ah discovers secret shared diary ... more
written by two students at the all-girls' school she finds it a compelling read. She becomes obsessed with the page-turning accounts of a secret romance between the two girls but when one of the students is found dead a new terror seeps through the school. Was it suicide or something more sinister? And what is the true meaning of the words written in the diary "memento mori" (remember the dead)? Atmospherically directed by Kim Tae-yong and Min Kyu-dong its controversial lesbian overtones created ripples in Korea.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Advantages: Innovative, challenging, groundbreaking Disadvantages: Can be difficult to follow
...into a commercial success. Memento is one such film.
PLOT
Essentially this is about revenge Leonard Shelby an insurance investigator is trying to discover who raped and murdered his wife. A hard task in the best of circumstances but Leonard has an extra problem. During the attack he suffered head injuries, which mean that he has lost all his short-term memory. He is unable to remember any details longer than a few hours. ... ...occurred these have become his memento a physical representation of the memories he cannot retain. These messages are directed to himself and they are the only way he makes sense of the clues and information he unearths during the search for his wife's killer. He has to have complete trust in what he 'tells' himself, you would think this was self-evident but in the course of his investigation even trusting his own words becomes ever more traumatic ... more
Amid a morass of conventional Hollywood blockbusters, mostly clones of each other, featuring inane predictable plots, wasteful special effects and below average acting it is refreshing to think that every so often a filmmaker has the balls to come up with something different and the will to make it into a commercial success. Memento is one such film.
PLOT
Essentially this is about revenge Leonard Shelby an insurance investigator is trying to discover who raped and murdered his wife. A hard task in the best of circumstances but Leonard has an extra problem. During the attack he suffered head injuries, which mean that he has lost all his short-term memory. He is unable to remember any details longer than a few hours. Places names, facts, times mean nothing to him a long time friend becomes a total stranger. Is the next person he meet and old friend or an old enemy? To cope with this he has devised a complicated system utilising tattoos, Polaroid and cryptic messages that tell him about what has occurred these have become his memento a physical representation of the memories he cannot retain. These messages are directed to himself and they are the only way he makes sense of the clues and information he unearths during the search for his wife's killer. He has to have complete trust in what he 'tells' himself, you would think this was self-evident but in the course of his investigation even trusting his own words becomes ever more traumatic for him.
At the beginning of the film we see the revenge killing but this instead of resolving the story does nothing but bring to light a raft of questions. How did he get to find the person's identity? As the right person been killed?
The story now begins to unfold retrospectively each layer revealing a little more of what events have brought him to the final killing. Each scene represent and distinct set of memories and rather like peeling an onion layer by layer the story unfolds.
Two other people are intimately involved in Leonard search fro his wife killer John 'teddy' apparently a friend and the mysterious Natalie maybe a friend or a lover? Both have their own agendas and Leonard has now way to know if he can trust them.
CAST, PERFORMANCES AND OPINION
Guy Pearce .... Leonard Shelby Carrie-Anne Moss .... Natalie Joe Pantoliano .... John Edward 'Teddy' Gammell Mark Boone Junior .... Burt Hadley
Directed by Directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Christopher Nolan with original story by Jonathan Nolan.
The genius of this film is the daring but successful attempt by the director Christopher Nolan to put the viewer in to the shoes of Leonard Shelby. When you watch the film you are constantly struggling to make sense of what is occurring each question that is answered only begs a new set of questions, it is disconcerting and it does challenge your ability to follow the action but this is as close as we can get to what the hero is actually experiencing. This method of telling the story is quite problematic as we are taken through each scene and a new piece of the puzzle is uncovered but there is a certain amount of overlap of events, which could prove to be repetitive. The director has wisely chosen to give us a slightly different view each time and thus retain our interest. Of course as the film develops we have an advantage over Leonard and gradually the truth begin to emerge in a much clearer fashion than it does for him, but there is still room for plenty of twists along the way and a nice sting in the tale.
If we get beyond the central premise of the hero's memory loss Memento is a traditional thriller and it works by the old fashion method of keeping the audience interested, mystified and excited in just the right measures. We have a central mystery to solve we have a list of suspects and plenty of red herrings. The brilliance of the idea was to subvert this form and introduce the unknown factor in the form of the memory loss, which manages to challenge every aspect of the detective form. At a more fundamental level it also makes us realise how much of ourselves, of our identity depends on our memory and on the connection and relationship we have to other people. Once this security of 'knowing' is taken away we become lost and completely at the mercy of others.
It is hard to fault the film all the performances are excellent. Guy Pearce his neighbour's days thankfully long behind him is outstanding as a man totally adrift, alone trying to cling on to the one purpose left in his life the desire to know who murdered his wife. Better still is the ever dependable and highly underrated Joe Patagliagno as the 'maybe' friend 'Teddy'. Just as Leonard is never sure how much he can trust him neither are we. Carrie-Ann Moss taking a break from kicking virtual ass in the Matrix series once again puts in a great performance, do we trust her, is she manipulating the situation to exact her own revenge?
The films great strength can also be considered it potential flaw. The confusion that is inevitable can make it difficult for some to follow, especially for those who are used to a film flowing over them in a passive way. Memento requires you to exercise your brain and even when it is all over certain questions will still remain and further viewing is essential.
Of course the central paradox of the film should not be forgotten, this is a revenge story but of course the character has now way of remembering the actual crime, his memory is gone and the memory of the act of revenge will also be a fleeting one.
So story and acting are outstanding but a mention also has to go to the cinematography and soundtrack that both helped greatly to create the oppressive mood that pervaded throughout he film and is essential to generate the sense of fragility that exists in Leonard's connection to the world.
This is an unusual film maybe it will not appeal to all but it certainly was for me a worthwhile experience.
For those of you that after watching the film still feel the need to explore the disturbing story further check out the quirky website
http://www.otnemem.com/index.html
that through the use of flashing images and snippets of news takes you through the trail of murder and revenge.
'Memento' is available on DVD from Play.com for £13.99 delivered. (Certificate 15, 112 mins)
Advantages: Original, fascinating Disadvantages: Confusing at times
Leonard is suffering from short-term memory loss after an attack that led to the raping and killing of his wife. Now he lives life from day to day, relying on photographs, hand-written notes and tatoos to remind him of facts that he needs to know. One thing he can't forget, however, is that his wife died, and that he is determined to find her murderer, short-term memory loss or not. There are two people in his life who could help him - one, a man ... ...only problem is that Leonard can never remember who they are from one day to the next and doesn't even know whether they genuinely want to help him or not. Will he ever find out the truth? Or will his predicament lead to madness? One of the first things to note about this film is the way that the story is told. Based on a short story by director Christopher Nolan's brother, Jonathan Nolan, it is expressed in two ways: Firstly in colour, in which ...
sunmeilan 13.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Memento (DVD)
...I was told before watching Memento by various friends and family members I would not understand the plot and would fall at the first hurdle with my attention turning to a piece of floating lint or a dancing light on the ceiling. Seeing myself as a budding Barry/Jonathon (Norman/Ross of course) I set out to disprove those who dared patronize me. A ground-breaking piece of mind-shattering movie-making. In its original style "Memento" is THAT film from ... ...based on Jonathon Nolan’s novel Memento Mori (predictably Chris’ brother or they eerily share the same surname).
Its final point is its starting point. And so on. Confused? I was. In the opening minutes Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) avenges the murder of his wife; brutally slaying an unknown character. The time is turned back to a scene beforehand leading up to the revenge killing. From then on the story rips reality as it bends time to its own liking ...
j_mcb 05.07.2003 (20.07.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Memento (DVD)
Advantages: very unusual, keeps you guessing, something to think about Disadvantages: can be a bit confusing
Memento is a very unusual and interesting film. It's about a man who can't form new memories; he remembers up to a certain point in his life when he was injured, but after that it's all a blank. My main criticism is that Leonard Shelby, the central character, can remember that he has this condition, despite the fact it could only be diagnosed after he begins suffering from it, so he shouldn't be able to learn he has it. It's shown in the film that ... ...be able to work out what was wrong with him, but he shouldn't know it just off the top of his head. However, aside from this, I found it to be a very good film and can forgive this inconsistency because without it the storyline wouldn't have been possible. ~~~ The Plot ~~~
Leonard lost the ability to form new memories when his wife was killed. Now, he can recall things for a minute or so and then they're gone. He wants revenge on the man who raped ...
87degrees 28.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Memento (DVD)
Advantages: Original, intriguing and innovative film with superb performances from a talented trio of thespians. Disadvantages: If you like no-brainers this could cause melt down.
Memento is a thriller that combines innovative and imaginative direction with the same plot ingenuity that graced The Usual Suspects to create a thoroughly mesmerising film. This is certainly not your average run of the mill thriller and in fact breaks almost all the genres conventions, not least by starting at the end of the story with a brutal killing. Not that this reduces the tension or suspense especially when coupled with superb performances ... ...in time we go.
Memento is a testament to creative and original writing and directing; the script is sublime combining an intellectual almost philosophical bent with some amusing scenes. The reliability of memory upon which people rely on implicitly in daily life and the absurdity of vengeance that will be forgotten by the avenger within minutes are just two of the interesting topics thrown up during the film. There is also a highly amusing scene ...
Mercury 16.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Memento (DVD)
Films like Memento are pretty few and far between – uniquely mind bending and absorbing with the quirkiest of approaches – truly challenging and awkward to understand – quite the most mesmerising film I’ve seen in months.
It features Guy Pearce in a million miles away from his first big part as the teenager Mike in Neighbours. He’s grown into a pretty respectable actor these days and even though he’s sporting the most bizarrely dyed hair you’ve ... ...totally bemused by events.
Memento was made in 2001 and directed by Christopher Nolan. Alongside Pearce it features Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss, who we are never sure are allies or enemies of Shelby, as the bizarre plot wends this way and that in a meandering ad hoc manner that is both infuriating and totally natural. At times, Shelby is not certain whether he’s chasing a guy or being chased by him – now work that one out if you can, or ...
dave27 11.06.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Memento (DVD)
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Advantages: Reverse chronological storyrelling! Disadvantages: The movie's finale
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 ...
Advantages: Convincing, lots to take in Disadvantages: Confusing in some parts
For any of you that don?t yet know, I am a fan of Tartan Asia Movies, maybe that?s how you got here from another review or something. Despite them being world cinema with subtitles they are probably the best films out with fantastic plots, twists, visuals and characters.
Memento Mori is a part of three-film series (along with with Whispering Corridors and Wishing Stairs) Wishing Stairs being about girls at school that believe if you walk the wishing stairs and reach the 28th the 29th will appear and grant you your wish. Whispering Corridors, involving the female school, with brutality and abuse, by the teachers - and previous suicides of the school goers. The films are only linked through the Korean school girls, but no other connections between them, Memento Mori is part three in the film series.
Memento Mori is not much ...
Advantages: Thought provoking Disadvantages: Thought provoking
confusing.
The time scale used in this film is amazing as it works backwords and there are many twists and turns on the way.
I fully recommend getting this film as it is one of the best thrillers out there but the special edition dvd does not hold many more special features although it is advertised with 2 extra discs. The best feature in this special edition is the hidden easter egg where if you find it you can view the entire film in chronological order which although the same film equates to a completely different film which is alot less confusing.
All in all a brilliant little film with an outstanding script and brilliant actors this film is a winner. ...
Original Theatrical Trailer, Interview With Writer And Director Chris Nolan, Director And Cast Biographies, Memento Mori, Tattoo Gallery, Shooting Script, Website Material, Special Hidden Feature The Beginning Of The End
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...MEMENTO has the uniquely disorienting quality of a puzzle....It's the rare mystery in which every moment lives....Pearce's extraordinary performance lends even the smallest events the aura of a life-or-death search..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.77, 23/03/2001)
"...Nolan has literally turned the genre inside-out and reassembled it as an intriguing jigsaw puzzle of a whodunit..." (Hollywood Reporter, p.86-94, 12/09/2000)
"...Exceptional....A haunting, nervy thriller....MEMENTO is a provocatively structured and thrillingly executed film noir..." (Los Angeles Times, p.2, 16/03/2001)
"...A stylish thriller with a touch of novelty....This mind-teasing puzzle is engrossing..." (Movieline, p.34-7, 01/03/2001)
"...Ingenious....MEMENTO is a brilliant feat of rug-pulling, sure to delight fans of movies like THE USUAL SUSPECTS and PI..." (New York Times, p.E14, 16/03/2001)
"...[A] mesmerizing mind-bender....A new classic among thrillers....This jolting jigsaw puzzle of a movie grabs you and won't let go..." (Rolling Stone, p.85-6, 15/03/2001)
"...A terrifically compelling little mystery..." (USA Today, p.3E, 16/03/2001)
DVD Description
MEMENTO, the second feature by writer-director Christopher Nolan (FOLLOWING), is an intricately constructed film noir that masterfully inverts time to comment on the foggy relationship between memory and truth. MEMENTO tells the story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a former insurance investigator who witnesses a brutal attack on his wife. Knocked unconscious, Leonard wakes up with a rare brain condition--he no longer possesses short-term memory. He can remember his name and all the details of his past, but he can no longer make new memories. Armed with a careful system of remembering details (he compulsively snaps Polaroids and scribbles notes, then tattoos the important facts directly onto his body), the distraught Leonard goes on a manhunt to avenge his wife's death. To illustrate the unique and frightening state of the protagonist's mind (he cannot remember what happened even seconds before), Nolan takes a brilliantly successful risk in telling the story backward. The film begins with Leonard killing the man he's looking for. From there MEMENTO unravels a compellingly disconcerting trail back to the start. As the layers of the story are peeled back scene by scene, Leonard's involvement with two enigmatic friends--who both claim to be helping him--complicates the mystery.<BR>Based on a short story by the director's brother, Jonathan Nolan, MEMENTO is an incredibly original film that is so wonderfully puzzling and eerily ambiguous that it will surely warrant repeated viewings.
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