You figure out pretty quickly that “Memento” is unlike any film you’ve seen before. Guy Pearce (“LA Confidential”) plays the lead character, Lenny, who has suffered a head injury inflicted during a struggle with the man who killed his wife. As a result of this injury, Lenny is incapable of forming new memories. He can only remember his life through the time of his wife’s murder. All new memories fade after several minutes. He survives by taking Polaroid photographs and writing himself notes, many of which he has tattooed on his body.
Next, the story is told backwards. The opening scene has Lenny killing a man. The next scene you see shows the events that occurred immediately prior to the scene you just saw. Like Lenny, the audience has no knowledge of the events that led up to that scene, other than what we can learn from Lenny’s Polaroids and notes.
“Memento” is an excellent film, and fans of film noir will love it. You have to pay attention to every detail because the story can be rather confusing, but that’s a big part of the fun. I’m looking forward to seeing it again so I can catch some of the clues and details I missed the first time around.
4 / 5 Stars
Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Jorja Fox
Director: Christopher Nolan
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