100 Finest Films - Memento

Memento – 2000, Christopher Nolan

If you’re ever looking for an example of how important narrative is to a story, ‘Memento’ is it. ‘Memento’ is a film that runs on how it tells it’s story, and I don’t think any other narrative has given the audience such a window into the mind (or lack of) of a character, and more invested in their hero’s plight. It’s a simple story of a man out for revenge on the man who killed his wife and left him brain damaged, unable to create new memories. This means that while he knows his name and his past, since the trauma, he cannot remember things for more than a few minutes. He constantly takes photos to remember people, writes notes on everything to stay alive and keep on task, the task of vengeance. What makes this film more than a well made detective/revenge yarn is Nolan’s chosen narrative structure. The first thing we see, is the end. The film cuts between two narratives, one moving forwards chronologically, interspersed between later scenes, but in reverse order. So we see the end of the film first, then the start, then the scene just before the final scene, then the second. This isn’t any more confusing than it’s intended to be. We are purposefully placed in Leonard’s position, we too have no idea what just happened. This plot device means over and over again the movie starts, a little earlier each time. We get to see more of the events that have happened, and piece together the story and the full picture, while keeping the main character’s frustration at not knowing the immediate past. By the end, we see the horrifying truth, and see the full grim nature of Leonard’s life, and how the people around him use his ‘disability’. Mostly set in daylight, ‘Memento’ shares a lot with Nolan’s later film ‘Insomnia’, they are both film-noir in the day, film-blanc. The small cast is all excellent, especially Guy Pierce in his best role to date, as well as Carrie Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano both playing ambiguous ‘friends’ of Lenny. The film deals with memory, grief, revenge, and purpose in one’s life in ways no other has with such quality. The film runs on it’s gimmick, yes, but this is more than that. It’s an intuitive natural way of telling this story, and its how the story is told that separates it and makes it one of the greatest experiences in cinema ever crafted.

Best Moment: The very last line. A perfect ending, and of course, a perfect lead in to the events we just witnessed. To say anymore would spoil it, I’ve gushed enough, watch the damn thing.