Memento - Film Review

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Film Review

Directed by: 

Christopher Nolan

Starring: 

Guy Pearce

Carrie-Anne Moss

Joe Pantoliano

Memento is an extremely unique ‘film noir’ drama directed by Christopher Nolan, famous for his recent re-birth of the Batman series and currently at the helm of the long awaited ‘The Dark Knight’. Most of his films are difficult to put into a set genre, as they often contain elements of drama, horror, mysteries and action all at the same time. Since his directorial debut 11 years ago, Nolan has been heavily praised as a ‘true visionary’ and named ‘one of the greatest intelligent directors of all time’ by multiple critics, as well as being renowned for his efficiency and perfectionism both whilst filming, and in the editing room.

It is no surprise then, that the content and style of Memento is so different to any other mainstream movie you might see this year. The film follows Leonard Shelby (portrayed by Guy Pearce), a man whose wife died after being raped when two men broke into his home, violating her and leaving him with an injury that causes anterograde amnesia. However, only one of the assailants involved is caught and arrested, causing Leonard to become a vigilante and avenge his wife, using notes and tattoos to help him track down the villain who killed her. This is where Nolan shows his ability to play with film in order to change the audience’s perception; because the main protagonist can only remember things that happened before the incident and about three or four minutes before the current time, the film is divided into many short scenes. These scenes are played in reverse order, so that the film begins with the ultimate act of revenge, and from then on back tracks through time to display every shocking detail about Leonard’s condition and story. As if this wasn’t complicated enough, not everything is as it seems, and small hints of this start to trickle through fractured memories from the very beginning.

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The film opens with a close-up shot of a flapping Polaroid photograph in somebody’s hand of a body lying face down on a bloody floor, immediately grabbing the attention of the viewer and leaving us to watch in bewilderment as the image within the white frame slowly fades to blank. This intrigue is further developed when the photograph is pushed back into a camera which then flashes and we realize that this scene is being played to us in reverse. Then we finally see the face of the main character, appearing scarred and distressed behind the heavy camera before a ...

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