Memento

"Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the colour of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts."

This was the third time I had seen this film, the first, I really enjoyed, the second time I didn't pay too much attention so nothing changed, but this time, I enjoyed the film so much more, because over time my mind had become distorted because even though I thought I remembered what happened and whatnot, I was wrong, which made this film so much more enjoyable.

Title: Memento
Year of Release: 2000
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Drama
Rating: 9/10

Leonard is in the search for a man he thinks raped and murdered his wife. The same man also left Leonard with a major problem, Leonard has short-term memory loss and every so often he will just forget what he is doing and forget the people he has recently met. Leonard uses photos and notes to find the man that caused all this.

This is a film you definitely need to pay attention to, leave for ten minutes and you may find yourself lost. This film is quite different to others in the way it is shown. Instead of following in a chronological order which is easy to follow, this goes in reverse. Each colour scene is before the one you just saw, there are also black and white scenes which are in chronological order though. This definitely made the film sometimes difficult to follow and confusing, but that adds to the overall enjoyment of the film. It doesn't just improve the film by making it more confusing, it makes it better for reasons I can't really say other than it helps in terms of the characters and makes for one hell of a climax.

One thing I noticed which was much more present this time round was that it is more dramatic than I originally thought. You get a great understanding for Leonard's feeling, his anger, his frustration and his disorientation. Guy Pearce does a great job in performing some very great scenes which gives the film a level of tragedy and sadness which is constantly accompanied by the well-suited and fantastic score. You really get a good understanding of the way he lives, thinks and feels, with some of the great dialogue, where he says simple things about his wife, how he remembers her.

Leonard, before all this happened, worked for an insurance company. His job was where he had to investigate certain claims which would be of a decent amount of money, and if he could find a reason which would stop the insurance company from having to pay the claim. This leads to the great addition of the story about Sammy, this story is something you have to pay attention to, it may seem like a side story that isn't really relevant, but it is, it coincides with Leonard's story very well and adds more to his character, I guess, it adds depth, helps you understand more about his problem.

I find it is so easy to spoil things about this film by making a simple comment, so I'm pretty sure I haven't spoiled a thing. This is probably Nolan's best film, very closely followed by The Dark Knight, it has that fantastic Nolan feel that you get from his other films like The Prestige and Following. A definite must see for fans of Nolan's other films, and if your just interested in a great mystery film, looking to be a bit confused.