Memento

2000
Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring:
Guy Pierce - Leonard
Carrie Anne-Moss – Natalie
Joe Pantoliano – Teddy Gammel

Memento is probably not like any other movie you have ever seen. In it uncharacteristic of your usual film in that it doesn’t follow a linear point from beginning to end. Actually the story is cyclical - the end is at the beginning and also at the end. The story runs backwards & it definitely confusing; about as confused as the main character who after a head injury is suffering from short-term memory loss. Imagine forgetting why you started a conversation with someone after you’ve been talking to them for a few minutes yet remembering all your past events before a certain time. This is the problem Leonard (Guy Pierce) faces. On top of that he is seeking revenge for his wife’s death. In addition to killing his wife the head injury the killer gave him left him with his “condition.”
In order to remember his mission and keep his clues straight he keeps notes written down and tattooed on his body. He also takes Polaroid pictures of people to let him know who they are and if they are to be trusted or not. Each day he wakes up not knowing where he is or what he did the previous day. An undercover cop, Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) is keeping an eye on Leonard and his personal vendetta and using him to nab some crooks on the side.
But then again everyone seems to use Leonard. Teddy leads Leonard to Natalie (Carrie Anne-Moss) and her drug dealing boyfriend with clues that convince him he is his wife’s killer. As he doesn’t write a note he forgets but it comes back to hurt him later when Natalie finds out he killed her boyfriend. Just one word: PEN.
Leonard thinks, or makes himself think, he is in control the whole time since he has a “system” that keeps him organized from one day, one hour to the next. But, he is no more than a puppet on strings, getting pulled one way and then the other. I thought the movie was very well done. In addition to a compelling and out-of-the-box plotline the actors did a fine job of bringing out the worst in their characters personalities when they had to and hiding their intentions the rest of the time.
Also, there is something to be said about the way the movie made me second-guess myself. If Leonard was a puppet on strings then I as a viewer was equally so wondering who to believe and who not to. I wasn’t even close to expecting the clincher at the end.

4 stars