![]() ![]() If you hated watching Memento' the way Christopher Nolan intended, then I can only recommend that you get a hold of the DVD and watch it in chronological order, as it will really help you. So, if you watch this movie and it confuses you the first or even the second time, I can assure you that is how you are meant to feel, confused. The one which sticks in my mind the most' has to be where Natalie abuses Leonard, calling his dead wife a whore', snorting smartly that you won't be even able to remember what I have said'. There are also some powerful scenes in Memento'. Memories can be changed or distorted, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts." But it has to be ironic that Leonard is the one who narrates Memento', when his recollections and memories of events are inaccurate and jaded. Memory can change the shape of a room or the colour of a car. Ask the police eyewitness testimony is unreliable. As Lenny mentions early on in the film, "Memory's unreliable. Nonetheless, memory is the most vital element in this movie, because without it, people are confused, isolated and abused, which is what happens to our hero', Leonard. Without them, our hero would not be able to remember anything. The way Leonard tries to remember things in the present and the future, via notes tattoos and photographs, making them an important element within the movie. Memento also has some interesting devices to tell the story. But from an acting prospective, this would have been an easy experience to be part of. I am sure that many of the performers would have had to read their scripts many times to understand what was happening from a cinematic point of view. Yet in no way do any of the characters in Memento' realise they are in a time reversed movie. Add in the funny role of Burt (Mark Boone Jnr.), the motel clerk, who openly admits to Lenny that he is ripping him off, by giving him two rooms, but that he will not remember it happening anyway. Although we do not hear her say much, she is a vital part of this most confusing story. There is Leonard's wife, Catherine (C.S.I.'s Jorja Fox) who is another fascinating character. Other characters include Sammy Jenkis (Stephen Tobolowsky), who is a victim we learn about from an old case when Leonard Shelby was an insurance investigator. What is similar about these characters is the way they use Leonard's condition to advantage their own situations. There is also the character of Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) who is a lot like Teddy in her own way. A friend said of Pantoliano's performance in Memento, he was perfect for the role of Teddy', as he comes across as the mysterious bad guy'. Memento's other main stars include corrupt cop Teddy' (Joe Pantoliano). With Lenny', I feel the audience suffers partly the same condition as he does, and partly does not, as we can remember what has happened in the present. The only problem is that Shelby is suffering from anterior-grade amnesia', a disease that cannot be treated. Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, a man on the hunt for his wife's killer. Guy Pearce's role in Memento' shows me why he is so successful in Hollywood today. In my opinion, the variations in these shots are used so it confuses the audience even more. What is also cleverly done by Nolan is the use of black and white and then colour shots. I am almost 100% sure that Nolan and his brother Jonathan, made up this story in the realisation that it was meant to be confusing. It also makes the audience feel for a guy like Leonard, whose condition only gets worse and worse as the movie goes on. The story being told in a backward kind of motion makes the audience have to think hard about what they are watching. His style in directing and editing Memento' is quite unique, as no movie has ever been made quite like it before. ![]() Christopher Nolan has made one great (but confusing) movie. Although he can recall details of life before his accident' Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he is, where he is going, or why. ![]() The difficulty of locating his wife's killer is compounded by the fact that Leonard suffers from a rare, untreatable form of amnesia'. Although he looks like a successful businessman, his only work is the pursuit of vengeance: tracking and punishing the man who raped and murdered his wife. Leonard Shelby wears expensive, tailored suits, drives a late model Jaguar sedan, but lives in cheap, anonymous motels, paying his way with thick wads of cash. It is no wonder that this movie is so popular with the movie going public around the world. In the vain of Pulp Fiction', Memento is a movie that has to be seen to be believed. It also gives us the chance to see how far a patient of such a disease will go to remember what is most important to him. In the movie Memento', we get to see how bad it is to suffer from short term memory loss. Losing your memory would have to go close to one of the worst experience anyone could ever suffer from. ![]()
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