Memento (2000)

“Memento”, Christopher Nolan’s second feature film, is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s a meticulously constructed and methodically paced jigsaw puzzle of a film that twists and turns from the abrupt opening to the jaw-dropping conclusion. Watching this movie for the first time is like attempting to build a Lego set when the pages in the instruction manual are in the wrong order. At first, it’s a frustratingly mystifying experience; trying to deduce which scenes interlink is a headache, but as the bigger picture is masterfully revealed, you can fully appreciate the brilliance and scope of the ambitious narrative.

The cast all bring their A-game to “Memento”, delivering multi-layered and perplexing performances that are guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Guy Pearce is terrific as the film’s protagonist Leonard, a broken man who is hell-bent on solving a horrific crime that, thanks to his short-term memory loss, he can only partially remember. To say anything else about the plot would be to spoil the big reveals scattered throughout “Memento”, but I can safely say that Pearce is incredible. His performance is extremely subtle, yet he effortlessly conveys the fractured mental state and determination of his character, that ensures that the audience is immediately on his side, despite knowing very little about Leonard.

Carrie Ann Moss and Joe Pantoliano are both fantastic as the two mysterious allies that seem to be on Leonard’s side, both actors do a fine job of discretely altering their character's personalities from scene to scene, which adds to the ambiguity of the story.

The direction and cinematography on display in “Memento” are truly exceptional; the film has a gritty and realistic film-noir vibe whilst also feeling distinctly modern. I also have to mention how phenomenal the editing is here, it must have been an absolute nightmare to cut this film together due to its non-linear chronology, but Editor Dody Dorn did an excellent job of making this movie as coherent as possible.

It would take dozens of paragraphs to fully break down why this film is so great, but I’ll wrap it up here so you can see it for yourself.

It may be a complex, complicated and occasionally confusing film, but “Memento” deserves your undivided attention, whether you’re a film buff or not. With several of the most captivating performances found in Nolan’s esteemed filmography and some of his most impressive and ingenious directorial accomplishments, “Memento” is a film you definitely won’t forget.