What is one of the most wonderful feelings a cinephile can have? The wonder of watching a film for the first time that is nothing like you have seen before is a special feeling. When a filmmaker comes along that makes every film feel fresh and inventive in one way or another, you feel lucky to be along for the ride. As a cinephile whose experiences with the Memento Movie have occurred during the 21st century, I have been treated to the rise of Christopher Nolan.
But it was one special day in my Cinema class in high school where I was introduced to a film that was uniquely structured in a way I never saw. That film was Christopher Nolan’s second feature film, Memento Movie.
My first experiences with his work were watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight which as a fan of comic book films these were some of the best.
With 20 years since the theatrical release of this puzzle box film, how has Memento set the stage for what we would see in Nolan’s career? You cannot discuss this film without discussing the unique and revolutionary story structure that Nolan utilizes. Based on a short story by his own brother, Nolan cuts the narrative in half. The first half is shot in black and white and moves forward as expected in a linear fashion. But what about the second half of this mysterious tale? The film is kept in color but the scenes are presented in reverse order. But to make matters even more interesting, the audience is treated to interlocking scenes as we experience scenes one than the last then scene two then second to last, and so on until the narrative meets in the middle. How does this even work? How can someone think in this way while also crafting a perfect narrative that plays out this way? Nolan certainly can. His reputation for puzzle box cinema has piqued the interest of intellectual viewers for years. Wally Pfister, the cinematographer on the film, captures both color and black & white photography perfectly creating an affecting experience for the viewer.
Yes…the narrative structure may be inventive and impressive but does the actual tale hold up? The actual story has just as much mystery and invention as the structure itself. The tale is about a man named Leonard but you see…Leonard cannot create new memories. The film tells us this many times and every time we begin to wonder how much we can trust Leonard. Trust… is an important word when it comes to Memento. Who can someone trust who does not remember anyone who comes into their life? The film is filled with a few supporting characters who go through different iterations. Leonard believes he lives based on facts instead of memories. The tricky thing is…who came up with those “facts”? Each character morphs through each scene because we only know as much as Leonard knows up to that point. But what the film is able to accomplish is building complicated characters for the audience as we CAN remember each scene we have seen. The structure supports this development and mystery as the film manipulates us with what information is fed to us next. In that way, we are indeed like Leonard.
By the time we reach the end of the runtime (or the middle of the narrative), all of our perspective and belief is shattered. But unlike Leonard, this will sit with us and we can never forget it.
Sure, this film delivers plenty of crazy narrative twists and technical achievements but do we connect to the film? How can we? Through the performances featured in this film, we can feel the struggle and complexities of this puzzle. Underrated Australian actor, Guy Pearce, is our conduit into this twisting narrative and he is a strong anchor (or at least we think he is). Pearce captures the confusion and naïve nature of this character while also holding anger and fire underneath. This film would not work if we did not connect with Leonard in some way and Pearce creates that bridge so effectively. Carrie Anne-Moss crafts a compelling character in the form of the grieving and mysterious Natalie. In one scene, Anne-Moss delivers a tender and vulnerable authenticity as she lays with Leonard. In other scenes, she captures the darkness and vindictive anger that is shown in her captive stares. This femme fatale of sorts morphs throughout the film through the pulled-back layers as we see her transformation in reverse (which is haunting). To round out our center trio, we have Teddy who is portrayed with a slimy delight by Joe Pantoliano. Teddy is a character who feels as fake as his big grin under his dodgy mustache. Pantoliano is so committed to the façade he must convey that Teddy is incredibly hard to read for both Leonard and the audience alike. You don’t LIKE Teddy. He feels way too fake for that.
But the real struggle is discovering if he has good intentions with Leonard. But what is clear is that Pantoliano is committed to making us question Teddy and he accomplishes it so well.
Will you find many other films that make you question so much? I doubt you will find many. Memento is truly a puzzle in structure, story, and emotions. Should we care about Leonard? Do we trust in his judgment? Do we believe his facts? Who is Sammy Jankis? So many of these questions morph throughout Memento Movie and you will find out earlier if you really pay attention to the craft that Nolan is laying down.
Will you crack the puzzle that is Christopher Nolan’s Memento? Well…there is only one way to find out.
