Memento (2000)

Full confession here: this is only the second time I’ve watched Memento.  It has been over a decade since I first watched it, and I sort of planned that way.  I wanted to have only the vaguest of recollections when I watched it for the second time, so it could be new to me again and that I could experience the mystery of it all over again.  And it worked, to a point.  I started remembering little details, but for the most part I just sat back in awe at what a tremendous filmmaker director Christopher Nolan has been for his entire career.

If you don’t know the plot line for Memento, well it concerns Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man who suffers from short term memory loss.  There was an incident, and since that incident, he has been unable to form new memories.  You can talk to him for an hour and then see him the next day and he’ll have no recollection of that conversation.  Shelby is searching for the man that killed his wife (Jorja Fox), and since he can’t remember the facts he discovers, he develops a system of notes and tattoos to fill in the cavernous gaps in his memory.

The film is shown both in and out of chronological order, almost similar to what Irréversible did, minus the horrible 10-minute long rape scene.  If you haven’t seen it yet, any clues I drop here will potentially lead to the movie having less of an impact on you.  It is a masterful film, and one that I would say benefits from multiple viewings if I had not just taken a decade long break from watching it again.  Nolan gives us many clues throughout the movie, and it certainly invites a person to pay close attention to the details.  Pearce is off the charts excellent in his performance, and the movie itself should be required viewing for everyone that are sick of films that are basically commercials and don’t challenge you in the least.

5 / 5