Review of Memento (2000) by Ethan J — 28 May 2017

8/10.

In conclusion, this movie had a stellar story, acting and cinematography but I think its primary area of success comes from the fantastic gimmick uses throughout. Would Recommend.

This movie is incredibly interesting and keeps you hooked all the way through. That said, I think that the movie's primary strength is its great gimmick. It's a gimmick movie, no doubt about that, but it does actually have enough substance to back it up.

Technically speaking, this movie is excellent. The editing in this movie is phenomenal and the way that Nolan uses it to tell the story backwards is really just brilliant.

They say that Guy Pearce is never the answer and I would usually agree with the exception of this movie. He plays a genuinely troubled man and I bought him in every scene he was in. You could really feel how his character arc reverses throughout the movie and the movie wouldn't be as good as it is without his amazing performance. Carrie Anne-Mosse was also pretty good as Natalie but I do think that most people could have played her and don't think that Anne-Mosse actually added anything special to the role. Joey Pantolino was actually great as Teddy and really convinced me of his character. All the acting was great in this movie and really helps drive this movie. All the characters in the movie are also great and work as the main force of this movie.

I adore the story for this movie. It's intriguing. It's intense. It's a mind {INSERT PROFANITY HERE} if there ever was one. Add that to Nolan's spectacular non-linear storytelling and you have a phenomenal story. I do actually think that the way Nolan presented this story was the primary driving force of it. In what's become typical Nolan fashion, the ending is mysterious and only furthers the genius of this film's script.

Memento is a movie that is told in reverse. There is no real way to explain how awesome that is and how well that works other than to write this review in the same way. The driving force of this movie is the gimmick of it and that is okay because Nolan also provided us enough substance and meat to keep the potatoes edible. Guy Pearce gives one of his best performances as Leonard Shelby. The other supporting cast are also pretty good and the help drive this movie. It's mainly down to Nolan's unique script and insane mind that make this movie shine. I can't pick out my obvious flaws other than I can see many people not being satisfied with the ending of this movie. That is understandable because it took my a few hours to compile my thoughts on it. If you can take the mind {INSERT PROFANITY HERE} of Nolan's ingenious writing, you'll probably enjoy this movie.

'MEMENTO' was directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Guy Pearce, Carrie Anne-Mossee and Joey Pantolino. It's the story of Leonard Shelby(Guy Pearce), a man with short term memory loss, who attempts to hunt down the man who murdered his wife and gave him his condition.