It is rare nowadays to find or notice a filmmaker that anybody will predict that could potentially the next director that could open another chapter of motion picture history. It is because Hollywood has become so predictable on focusing how to get more moviegoers into the theaters. So, what is the solution? They schedule more sequels, more rehashed projects and more superhero movies. But, also, it is the year 2000, in which that past year, we saw so many ambitious and original projects which were Fight Club, American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, The Sixth Sense, Magnolia, etc. And, that trend continues with a small independent movie that nobody had heard about but it took off at the Venice Film Festival.
What was so unique about Memento is how the narrative was used. It was unlike anything we have ever seen before. But, the movie has never tackled short-term memory loss as a center point for the whole journey as to solving the murder of the protagonist's wife. The movie projects as to how amnesia is felt in a person's mind as the movie switches back and forth. It is noticeable in the color tone of the scenery as one type of shot is color and the other is black and white. You can get real confused from minute one as the opening credits are rolling as the Polaroid photograph is fading away as he has just taken a picture. It gets you hooked like that. If you get lost in a Christopher Nolan movie, such as this one, you will get frustrated by the experience but the experience is so original and captivating that you might want to revisit it repeatedly to spot out the details.
SPOILER ALERT! (I will talk about the summary so if you do not want it revealed and want to see the movie first, go ahead and then come back to my analysis/essay of the movie.)
I am going to approach this analysis of the movie differently because Christopher Nolan, the director, sets this up as a puzzle as he wants you to go into the mind of a person with anterograde amnesia. The movie sets up with Teddy's (Joe Pantoliano) fate as he gets killed by Leonard (Guy Pearce). Now, we already know he is behind something but what? Now, that is a risky chance to set up one supporting character's death because you may think that the experience is quite ruined. Not quite.
The movie starts out in black-and-white as Leonard who is an insurance investigator is talking to an unseen and unknown caller in his hotel room. He is unable to store recent memories because he was heavily injured as he was attacked by two men. One of the two attackers raped and killed Leonard's wife. Leonard was able to kill him but the second attacker clubbed him on the end and is now stuck with the amnesia. Because he is stuck with his condition, Leonard conducts his own investigation by using Polaroids, sticky notes and tattoos.
The color sequences are in reverse chronological order as Leonard gets a tattoo at the parlor. Finding a note in his clothes, he goes to a bar to meet a bartender named Natalie (Carrie Anne-Moss). Later, after mocking him and understanding his condition, Natalie uses Leonard to track a man named Dodd (Callum Keith Rennie) and drive him out of town. Meanwhile, Leonard meets with his contact, Teddy, to help him out but a photograph of Teddy instigates Leonard to not trust him.
The movie is tackling the basic theme of revenge while intertwining with Leonard's condition. It is both haunting and exhilarating because we, the audience, are Leonard. We do not know what the heck is going on and why Nolan made the decision to have the black-and-white sequences and color sequences go in separate directions. But, because he has the amnesia, you can debate whether or not his memories are shades of the past that could potentially be self-delusional or a puzzle he wants to solely forget because of the incident.
The point ties into a theme of manipulation as both Leonard, Natalie and Teddy are involved in his world: his puzzle. Natalie is manipulating him for taking out her garbage after learning the truth about Leonard. Teddy is manipulating his condition so he will not uncover the truth about himself and he can also make money. He wants to cover his tracks. And, if you think about, Leonard is manipulating himself for not wanting to go into the past and thinking that he, himself, killed his wife. He controls his future thoughts.
Now, what Nolan's masterful film does very well is making you get confused. It is a selfish name of the game but it was his intent because his narrative structure completely revolves around memory: whether if it is the past or whether if it some recent memory. The only evidence is the pictures and the tattoos that remind you and Leonard that the slice of the story or piece of the puzzle is linked to an event that is shocking that you are one step closer to solving the crime.
Guy Pearce gave a criminally underrated performance that should have warranted awards consideration. He plays an everyday guy with an inconsistent memory block and it is frustrating. He does not show as much frustration except for a few scenes and provides a cold look of conviction and terror as he plays a character that has amnesia. I was worried that Anne-Moss was going to play a one-dimensional character and a nobody but looking back, her character is wrought of emotion after her loss. And, Joe Pantoliano is fantastic as the snarky, deceptive cop that seems friendly but you can tell that he has a hidden agenda.
We did not know Nolan at the time as he is now a true pioneer of filmmaking. He was getting started as he made an independent film with such complex themes and a fascinating story that delves into the mind of amnesia wrapped around a crime mystery. The music by David Julyan provides some quiet sadness into his character and into the story. The cinematography by Wally Pfister provides some cold tension into the story and warmth between the two characters, Leonard and Natalie. I believe that this is one of Nolan's masterpieces and it is a great starting point to obviously a masterstroke of a filmmaking career.
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