Cogita Meira

I had wanted to watch Memento for a little while. Earlier in the summer, my roommate had mentioned every single day that I needed to watch it. She had really good taste in movies, so I figured that if she was telling me to watch something for fourteen days straight, I basically had to. So a few days back, on the plane returning to LA from my European excursion, I watched it.

Christopher Nolan’s psychological thriller, Memento (2000), revolves around an ex-insurance investigator named Leonard. The non-chronological storyline takes place in early 2000s San Fernando Valley, and follows Leonard’s search for vengeance against John G, the man who raped and killed his wife. We learn early on that Leonard has a condition. In an accident, he sustained a head injury that caused him to develop short-term memory loss. He remembers people, places, and motives through taking polaroid photos and getting information tattooed on himself. This film is a tangled web of facts and memories, questioning who to believe when you can’t even trust your own mind.

Leonard, our main character, is played by Guy Pearce. My roommate explained that half the reason she recommended the movie to me was just because of his sexiness. After finishing the movie, I understood her view. But beyond looks, Pearce’s acting is phenomenal. I’ve seen many movies that reminded me I was watching an actor recite lines; whether that be because of ill-fitting dialogue or bad execution. That was not a problem in Memento. Not at all. The best casting choice in the movie, in my opinion, is Joe Pantoliano as Teddy. He embodies the character’s shiftiness perfectly, and he’s so good at acting. I couldn’t say there were any casting decisions in this movie that I disliked.

I really liked the structure of the movie, and how it fits with the restrictions created by Leonard’s condition. At some points, it was so infuriatingly good. The plot point was able to avoid becoming gimmicky or just a way to reveal exposition or establish dramatic irony, and made me even more invested. There were many quick cuts between memories and scenes, which really felt like we were seeing into Leonard’s mind. One moment that immediately comes to mind is the memory Leonard has of being with his wife and pinching her leg, and that memory changing later in the story to him administering her insulin. But, about the ending, it felt rushed. There was so much lead-up to the final reveal, but what we were given felt like Nolan wanted to put another half hour into the movie and gave up. That’s the one thing I didn’t like in the movie.

One quote that really stuck out to me from the movie comes during a scene where Leonard is arguing with Teddy about the slipperiness of trusting memories. Leonard says “Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They’re just an interpretation, they’re not a record, and they’re irrelevant if you have the facts.” In a movie full of action and cuts and twists, this was one of the only things that made me think about myself and the real world. It really grounded the themes of the story, making all of the events taking place hit a bit harder than they would’ve without the line.

For me, Nolan movies are a bit too film bro for my taste. I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t feel that in this one too. Usually I find the archetype a bit exhausting, and I expected to feel completely the same about “Memento”. Getting past all the elements that would’ve had it labeled with the pejorative, I found a story that kept me on the edge of my seat. Not a rewatch, though.

Overall: 6.4/10