I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about this film. I have set out on a mission to watch and give my critique on the hundred best movies of all time; 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 Christopher Nolan that bemuddled and confuddled a population out there. With its astounding visual photography and gripping storyline the film demands full attention and concentration throughout. There can be no toilet breaks or popcorn refills. Once your bottom connects with that seat you are stuck there. The film is 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 with approximately five minute scenes taking place before the previous one did. (I know, the mind boggles).
Leonard Shelby has acquired a medical condition in which he cannot create new memories since the murder of his wife some time previously (The audience will never know how long she had been dead as Shelby cannot create the memory to know how long it has been) and so can only remember anything and anyone by getting tattoos and taking Polaroid images meaning anything after the “incident” become a note, tattoo or picture. These tattoos and images are the basic facts of life for what Leonard needs; 1) The people who he knows, his location, his car etc. and 2) The facts which are needed to find his wife’s killer. Leonard sets off (or rather has already completed his mission) to find the mysterious John G apparently responsible for taking his wife from this world.
The story if considered only in the respect as a revenge killing of a wife could be utterly boring material, popcorn would be dropped through the snores and drool; but hark, no, this isn’t your average cliché, this is ground breaking. Have I told you this already? (Inside Memento joke) Throughout Shelby’s search for the killer he has unorthodox relationships with seemingly helpful people to his investigation. Mysterious Natalie (The Matrix’s Carrie-Ann Moss) and cop Teddy are both connected to the story; but of course the only way to understand it is to go back in time and find out the roots to the character’s relationship.
Guy Pearce’s performance is particularly notable; he conveys a man of confusion and mystery down to atomic detail. I was genuinely confused with the poor man and felt a connection between character and audience. I wasted hours of time pondering this film and the medical condition that Shelby has. It is thought provoking and almost philosophical in the respect that it makes us question the base of our belief system and make us wonder about the world and have “what if I was him” thoughts. Carrie-Ann Moss is fantastic in her role of increasing (or should I say decreasing if we want to move forward in time…) importance throughout identifiably changes with every twist showing her in a different light, or a more apt phrase “in a different dark”; as dark is the only word depicting the edgy thriller.
Cinematography is at its best in Memento. The rough cuts and black and white scenes give a mismatched misshaped visual to the story and let a viewer understand the timing of the film in it’s entirety. Wally Pfister (Thanks mum and dad eh? What an unfortunate name) is the director of photography and reflects the loss of memory through picture. The film does have some apparent disadvantages as does any film; the whole premise of the movie is completely confusing and can bemuse a viewer if under the influence of alcohol and drugs; it requires COMPLETE attention! The film also leaves a lot unexplained but more features with the director explain this is no accident or mistake. The film is another “Donnie Darko” (meaning it requires full access to it’s website before one can truly understand the plot and so on). The website has a more detailed explanation of the storyline and fills in those blanks one misses on first viewing. http://www.otnemem.com/ is the official website with supposed newspaper cuttings of the events in the aftermath of the “incident”.
By the end of the film one has only reached the beginning. It is uncanny how satisfied I felt through so little satisfaction. Contradictoria. I felt as if the film had accomplished what it had set out to do, even without focusing on it’s little explanation (If one can find out the background information the film from the website it is a completion to one of the best films ever made and is a must-see view)
It currently ranks at #13 on the Internet Movie Database’s Top 250 movies of ALL TIME, if my opinion has not boasted it’s brilliance enough take the word of 53829 votes from the general public. 53,829 people can’t be wrong.
A definite recommendation.
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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 ...
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 ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
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...
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.
Mercury 16.05.2001 ·
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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.
Mercury 16.05.2001 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Memento (DVD)
Advantages: Makes you use your brain! Original, inventive way to make a movie! Disadvantages: ABUNDANT use of "f-word"; some graphic violence, unsatisfying "ending" (or "beginning?)
Analysis 17.10.2004 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Memento (DVD)
![Memento [2000] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78536510.jpg "Memento [2000] [DVD]")
Jul 5th, 2003
(Jul 20th, 2003)
exceptional by (2%):
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