Whilst the audience are still confused about what has happened to the picture, we see the same murder scene, but backwards. The first view of the scene shows us a pool of blood, which moves backwards, and then a bullet on the ground that flies back into the nozzle of the gun, glasses on the ground that fly onto their owner. This all, confuses the audience yet again, but confirms that the character’s perception of time is distorted, just as ours is being. All we are shown in this scene is in the perception of the killer, using a high-angle shot most of the time, clearly giving the impression that the killer is a cold-blooded murder, and the victim, completely vulnerable. His vulnerability in our eyes increases when we see his (the victim’s) smashed glasses on the floor. The audiences’ sympathy is definitely with the victim!
The scene then abruptly changes, in more than one way. As the scene changes, the colour also changes to black and white, showing us that the sense of time has changed. We see the killer lying in a bed, just waking up. Close-up camera shots (mostly extreme close-ups) are taken of ordinary objects such as a key, mirror, hangers, and a fan, all from the perspective of the killer. These give the audience the impression that everything is new to the character, and he is quite baffled. The audience is quite confused at this, and start to think up possibilities of what is going on, for example, the character has just woken up from a coma. We are forced to pay close attention to every tiny detail to try and work out what is happening, has as Lenny does.
Such an abrupt change of colour and scene, gives an insight of how the killer’s life is, it makes us think he is waking up to a completely new world, and has to analyse each and every thing. Each day he has to start again, and nothing makes sense. Even though the audience might now feel more relieved and at rest, that they have a very possible answer to all that has been confusing us up to now, there is still a slight doubt in what is happening, and we still feel slightly uncertain, as, of course, is the director’s intention.
The killer’s voice plays over the black and white scene as a voiceover. It shows us his feeling of confusion, and the many questions he has. We begin to feel we understand him, and start to empathise with him, and even share his confusion. From thinking this person was a cold-blooded killer, and having every bit of remorse from him, our opinions change very quickly, and it is even as if a bond has been formed between the audience and this character. The non-chronological order of the film also hints that his experience of time is also very mixed up. This makes us feel even more sympathy towards him.
Once again there is an abrupt change to the next scene, and it is back to colour. Lenny has a distorted experience of time and the film forces us to suffer this too. It also returns to the main story of the murder, but this time before the first scene of the actual murder.
The dialogue in this scene is all diegetic. A new character comes into the scene, and we identify him as Teddy, from a Polaroid picture. Teddy calls the killer Lenny, who instructs him to call him Leonard. We sense mistrust between the two characters, especially when Teddy attempts to fool Teddy into going into the wrong car, making Lenny look very vulnerable. We, the audience also share the mistrust, and are suspicious about Teddy, and feel more sympathy towards Lenny.
Whilst Lenny and Teddy approach a abandoned building, and the same, eerie, non-diegetic music that is played during the opening is played again, signifying to the audience a major event is about to take place. After the two enter the building, Lenny, after looking at a Polaroid picture of Lenny (shown using an extreme close-up), instructing him to kill him, viciously attacks Teddy, who falls onto the ground. Lenny asks himself rhetorical questions, and we begin to see he doesn’t understand what he is doing. We see Lenny at a high-angle shot, signifying he is in control, and Lenny in a low-angle, showing his weakness. Once again, we, the audience, have a change of feeling, and develop sympathy for Teddy, and begin to wonder the reason why he was killed.
Once more, there is an abrupt change of scene, and colour, the scene is now in black and white once again. There is also, once more, Lenny’s voice over, telling us his thoughts, and stressing his vulnerability. We begin to notice a pattern in that each time the scene changes to black and white, we feel sympathy towards Lenny. We are shown how he survives with his memory condition via a variety of complex strategies, such as Polaroid pictures, tattoos, and post-it notes. There is a close-up shot of a tattoo on Lenny’s arm, saying “remember Sammy Jenkins”. It shows us Lenny’s determination and how desperate he is to achieve his goal. We wonder what his goal is for him to go to such extreme lengths.
Then, there is yet another switch to a colour scene, where Lenny explains that he has no short term memory to Bert, the person in charge of the motel desk. Bert says, “That must suck, it’s all backwards”. He thinks that it is weird, and feels sympathetic, voicing over our exact response. Lenny also confirms our previous theory that Lenny and Teddy were not friends and there was mistrust between the two. Now all of gaps are staring to be filled in, we feel a lot more satisfied, but as quickly as our questions are answered, others arise.
We then return to another black and white scene, with Lenny in his room, and the voice over. We are shown further point of view shots of Lenny’s reminders (which he uses for minor tasks such as shaving, to much more major ones, for example to kill Teddy!) and Polaroid’s, and finally we begin to understand his system and the great extent he has to go to, to survive.
I feel the opening of the film ‘Memento’, definitely succeeded in its goals, which I believe to be to keep the audience asking more and more questions, which in turn were answered as the film progressed. The opening of the film uses devices to their full advantages, keeping me watching the film, with curiosity. The most powerful device in my opinion were the low and high-angle shots, signifying strength and weakness, this device played a large part in my mind of building an opinion of the characters. Another achievement is the regular “replayability”, which in my opinion meant that subsequent viewing were almost as rewarding as the first. In my opinion, Lenny is a victim as well as a hero, with full determination to fight for, and to achieve a goal that seems impossible. The film ‘Memento’ is frustrating, but at the same time cleverly plotted and leaves the mind in an exhilarating state, a complete success in its goals.
