Review of Memento (2000) by Mehdijavani — 27 Sep 2013

The movie "Memento" is one bizarre illustration of a rape story and its later consequences. It sets off with a murder from the look of which, the protagonist of the movie kills the guy who's raped and got it over with his wife. The look of satisfaction and enthusiasm on his face implies that he's gotten his revenge and will live relieved after this, but you can never say that as there is no afterward events; the story enjoys a reverse chronology. In a story employing this technique, the first scene shown is actually the conclusion to the plot. Once that scene ends, the penultimate scene is shown, and so on, so that the final scene the viewer sees is the first chronologically.

This 2000 Christopher Nolan movie which is made well before Batman trilogy, The Prestige, and Inception, is based on a short story from Johnathan Nolan, the outstanding director’s brother who has been the co-screenwriter for Nolan’s other great works as well. All the first scenes are happening after the next one and just come to an end when the other one starts which is as strange on paper as it looks on the screen! Nonetheless, this is not the most moving factor in the movie as it is about to get even creepier. The main character of the story, Leonard Shelby [personalized by Guy Pearce] has lost his short memory in the unfortunate incident in a fight with the jerk raping his love. He would only keep the stuff going around him in his recollection for less than ten minutes. To remember things by, he has developed this taking pictures plus adding notes under them method. He usually carries a camera around and takes pictures from the people and places to have in his pocket which will be his only tool to judge people on their good and bad nature. It does not often pay off as the man would choose to write notes about people at the wrong time.

Besides, Lenny has developed the habit of getting tattoos on his body about very important facts and information. The numbers of tattoos increase constantly, but never stop. The main character, who remembers to be a psychologist, usually talks of a Sammy Jackson which the viewer can never be certain of its existence which is the most terrifying fact.

The movie leaves the viewer holding the bag and awing at the heaviness of a 2-hour backward story. It educates you that you can never judge people based on one situation, teaches you that even short term memory is a full blessing, and shows you that everything could start only when you think they've come to a bitter end.