A Lamento on Memento

 If you know me, then you know that I love Chris Nolan. Because I know you’ve all seen The Dark Knight, you all know that he handles the film-noire genre really well. If you watched Inception, then you probably also know that Nolan also has a knack for messing with his audience’s head (Although Inception’s plot really wasn’t that complicated. But that’s a discussion for another time). Memento is a great film of Nolan’s, and is probably the best one to watch if you want to get a sense of what he’s all about. 

Seriously, you guys, it's not that hard.

 Memento is the story of a man named Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia, which means he can’t make new memories. He’s trying to find his wife’s killer, and has to keep notes (and give himself tattoos) to remember details of his investigation. Nolan cuts between two separate plot-lines. One is told chronologically with Leonard talking about his investigation with an anonymous caller on the phone in his hotel room. The other is in reverse chronological order, as we go backwards after Leonard has supposedly killed his wife’s attacker. This makes the audience feel as if they have Leonard’s condition, as they can’t remember what’s just happened (we don’t know yet) but can see what’s happening presently. For the final scenes of the movie, Nolan merges these two stories which creates a really cool effect for the viewer, as Nolan begins to tie everything together. 

Yes, it was all tied up very nicely.

 This movie is great. If you want a psychological thriller or a mystery, then watch this film. The ending will blow your mind, and the storytelling is incredible and unique. The ending contains mindf***ery of the highest degree. A lot of people think that the film noire genre died a long time ago, or think that it only existed in the 20’s and 30’s, but Nolan manages to keep it alive with a breath of modernity while still maintaining classic (if not a little bit stereotypical) film noire elements like narration and black and white creating the film’s atmosphere.