Memento: The Movie

If you're looking for something suspenseful, but different than your usual thriller, this is the best film you will see in a long time.

The movie starts with a murder: a revenge killing. But was the right person killed?

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is a man with no short-term memory. He hasn't been able to form new memories since the night his wife was murdered. Now he's on a hunt to find the murderer but with no way of remembering names, dates, places, facts and faces. Instead he tattoos himself with mementos of his search. When someone knows his name, he checks Polaroids to see if he knows them. Does he like this person? Does he trust this person? Is this the killer? He doesn't know unless he has scribbled a note.

Christopher Nolan puts you right inside Leonard's head. You see the story in reverse, so that you never know more than Leonard. In one scene you see him obtaining information from a person who knows him: maybe a good person, maybe not. In the next scene you witness a previous meeting between the two which illuminates their relationship further. Later still, you see how they met. But is that all of the story? You have yet to find out, and you won't know everything until the last scene. By watching the events backwards, you have no knowledge of what came before.

It is awesome story telling. However, you might become frustrated because you don't know exactly what's going on. That's normal. In fact, that's the whole idea. Just sit back and find out just how complex is Leonard's world.

This film will leave you with its own memento, and you'll find it difficult forgetting how much you enjoyed it.