• Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Privacy
  • Cookie Policy

THATFILMGUY

Film Previews, News, Reviews and Lists

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Lists
  • Five Stars
  • News
You are here: Home / Film Reviews / Memento (2000) review by That Film Guy

Memento (2000) review by That Film Guy

June 27, 2012 by That Film Guy Leave a Comment

Marking director Christopher Nolan’s first mainstream success, Memento became his calling card during his early career. Using similar methods of narrative story-telling, which he would expand upon a decade later in Inception, Memento received almost universal critical acclaim upon release. It also marked one of the first major acting roles for former Neighbours star Guy Pearce. While Nolan would go onto huge commercial success with The Dark Knight and Inception, it is Memento that was his first big impact film.

Leonard Shelby (Pearce) awakes in a motel room, confused and unaware of where he is. As he searches through his possessions he finds a series of Polaroid photographs that give instructions, he then notices a series of tattoos with ˜Facts’ about his goal. He is searching for the man who raped and murdered his wife, causing him to lose the ability to create short-term memories. As a result he has created a system using the Polaroids and tattoos that will allow him to continue his investigation.

The great conceit of Memento is that the narrative goes in reverse. We start with the shocking final scene and work backwards to discover how certain elements of the plot came to pass. It’s an incredibly unique form of story-telling that probably owes a little bit toward Pulp Fiction in terms of bravery and originality. While the main narrative continues, we are treated to intercut scenes of a younger Leonard, talking to an unknown person on the phone explaining his condition and various other aspects to his life. This is told in a standard forward timeframe and helps frame the rest of the narrative leading to a culmination of the two timelines in the final scenes.

There are two ways to make a successful early statement as a director, the first being an original, critically-acclaimed film, the second is to make money. Christopher Nolan did both. Memento, from a budget of merely $9m ended up taking over $35m at the box office. This combined with the overwhelming reaction to the film lead to him being offered bigger and bigger projects, like Batman Begins and Inception.

The cast including Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss and Pearce are all exceptional in helping to build the world of a man who is constantly forgetting what has happened to him. Laced with a wry sense of humour and bristling with edge-of-your-seat intrigue, wonderfully executed and perfectly acted, Memento stands the test of time and is one of the most outstanding early works from one of the most successful directors of all time.

 

 

Thomas Patrick

 

« Previous
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) review by That Film Guy
Next »
The Prestige (2006) review by That Film Guy

About That Film Guy

A new group of film reviewers in the finest traditions of ThatFilmGuy.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Sponsor Website

JEDINET LINK

TOP LIST

Top 30 Christmas Films

Top 30 Christmas Films

  Love Actually (2011) It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Elf (2003) A Christmas Story … Read More

Top 30 Horror Films

Top 30 Horror Films

Our list of the Top 30 Horror Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........Horror films are one of the … Read More

Top 30 Comedy Films

Top 30 Comedy Films

Our list of the Top 30 Comedy Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........One of the most popular and … Read More

Top 30 Animated Films

Top 30 Animated Films

Our list of the Top 30 Animated Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........The animated film genre … Read More

Top 30 Film Trilogies

Top 30 Film Trilogies

Our list of the Top 30 Movie Trilogies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........Before the 1970s a film … Read More

Top 30 Classic Action Films

Top 30 Classic Action Films

Our list of the Top 30 Classic Action Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........Catering for the … Read More

© 2022copyright Thatfilmguy.com and Trafford Innovations Limited