Genres

Visitors Review

Ricky Roma 2012-05-21 09:47:40

Groundhog Day with murder (spoilers throughout)

Lenny is kind of like a goldfish. His memory doesn't last too long andhe keeps wandering haphazardly from one place to another. However,unlike a goldfish he has a gun and he wants to kill the man that killedhis wife…which is nice.Memento is a revenge thriller with no hope for catharsis and no hopefor the protagonist to lead a fulfilling life after he gains his bloodyvengeance. After all, according to Hollywood, once you get your revengeyou're free to begin a new rewarding life – a bullet cures all ills.But Lenny is trapped. He's trapped in his own head and in anever-ending quest. Every day is the same. It's Groundhog Day withmurder.What I like most about Memento is how hollow it shows revenge to be.Like most people I'd be more than happy to return violence against mewith violence, but despite the desire to right wrongs, all too often itconsumes people. Lenny is an extreme example. His injury makescatharsis impossible, ensuring that he's consumed by an unsolvablepuzzle, but it also works as a metaphor. Revenge can all too oftenbecome people's lives. In the end the need for justice or retributiondefines the person – it's all they are – and they get trapped in aviscous cycle. They can't be happy until they get their revenge andif/when they do they cease to have a reason to live.In light of this, perhaps Lenny has it made. His quest will never endand he'll always have a purpose. But this glib analysis ignores thedark fate that awaits Lenny. He has no chance for happiness, he has nochance to move on and he has no chance of closure. All he'll everremember will be his wife being killed. But even if he can take a photoand convince himself that he's got his revenge he'll never have achance to enjoy it after the deed is done. His will be a hollowvictory.However, despite the futility of Lenny's quest, the end of the film isstill rather satisfying. Only for a limited time does Lenny have accessto all the facts, and rather take away the one thing that gives hislife meaning, he gives himself a new puzzle to solve. It's a darkending and one that finally sheds light on what has come before, butmuch more than that, it says something quite profound about the humanmind and how we manage to survive even when everything is against us.For a brief time Lenny's world is falling apart around him, but ratherthan allow himself to forget what he's been told, he exploits his ownweakness to perpetuate his revenge. The cycle will continue, but in abizarre, twisted way, justice will be done… One of the biggest surprises in Memento is the strength of Carrie-AnnMoss' performance. The Matrix films didn't really demand too much ofher or test her acting skills, so I was pleasantly surprised to see herturn in an excellent performance as the horrid Natalie. Her best scenehas to be her verbal assault on Lenny. It's smart, it's bad-mouthed andit had my blood boiling. In a single exchange you see the fallibilityof the film's hero. Yes he may be able to write notes and tattoo isbody, and he may think he knows the facts, but he can't protect himselfagainst the manipulation of other people. He has no chance to analyse,to ruminate or to read people's character. He can only go on firstimpressions and the lacklustre notes he makes for himself – everythingelse is lost. And as he proves with his Sammy Jankis story, he's not asgood as he thinks he is when it comes to reading people.But while Natalie's treatment of Lenny is ruthless, there are hintsthat she at least has some sympathy for him. For instance, when hetalks about his wife she does look rather sorry for him. But thenagain, perhaps it's nothing. However, although she exploits him to thefurthest degree, I don't think that Natalie is a clear-cut villain. Ithink she does feel sorry for Lenny, but I don't think that she letsthat get in the way of her getting her own revenge. (What a perfectcrime; getting a person with no memory to kill the person you wantdead.) Stylistically, too, the film is superb. The film opens backwards andwith a picture gradually getting fainter. Right from the beginningyou're in the character's head. I also like the way that the past is inblack and white. It suggests that the past is clear, certain. But asthe film progress you realise that this might not be the case.Everything is open to doubt. The memory is incredibly fallible and theonly certainty is that Lenny will never be free.

greppese 2012-05-21 05:08:51

Surprisingly original noir, but with a disappointing end

Christopher Nolan make a memorable movie. Unfortunately it's ruined bya too easy ending; the most important thing (and, certainly, the mostdifficult), I think, for a thriller story, is choosing a "good" guilty:solve a story like this one, it means not-choose at all, perhaps forfear of failing. In this way it really disappoints us, because it was avery well realized low cost story, with a great screenplay (taken froma book), some hilarious situation, and a surprising mechanism: itstarts at the end and proceed on the contrary, jumping some time backto show us how it went at the initial situation, then it jumps moretime back to explain how it went at the second situation, and so on,flashback after flashback. It's all in the same linear (but reverse)chronology so it's always easy to follow and understand. It's a storyof a brilliant detective who works for an insurance company that onenight find his wife raped and murdered, and it's hit himself by themysterious John G. whom he swear revenge searching him, because thepolice don't believe at his version of the facts. Little detail: afterthe barrel he lost his brief memory, which means that he can rememberall his life before the night of the murder, but after can remembereverything only for fifteen minutes. So he forces himself to amethodical research of the murderer with lots of tattoos, notes andphotos of his Polaroid, to remember himself all that he's discoveringafter that night, because every fifteen minutes his mind cleans everyfacts. But of course he must be careful, and ready, of that he writeson his notes. Besides, the others who know his problem, and tell thatare helping him, could swindle him… Guy Pearce plays well in a rolehalf-way between Goofy (of Mickey Mouse) and Ed Exley (of LAConfidential)

rronnie-1 2012-05-17 15:14:18

Pathetic!

Poor excuse for entertainment. I wish I hadn't wasted my money to buy it. I can't think of a movie I have enjoyed less. I'd rather be chained to a chair and forced to watch Gone With TheWind!

mlgirard 2012-05-17 04:31:55

Actions speak louder than memories

While "Memento" is a difficult to follow film, it's not excruciatinglydifficult. I'm not certain I agree with Teddy's version of the ending(or beginning as it were), but I'm not certain I can disagree with iteither. The sequence of events and the way in which they are presentedto the audience as well as the reason for this manner of presentationrequire the viewer to question everything. Not only do we begin toquestion the events of the movie but we begin to question the events inour own lives and the way in which we recall them. Is it our memorieswhich make us what we are or is it our actions? "Memento" is presented as what I find to be the ultimate form of amystery; however it's a flip version of our usual concept of a mystery.Most mysteries are said to be written by beginning at the end andfinishing with the mysterious beginning. These mysteries are thenpresented to us beginning with the mystery and ending with theresolution. This film on the other hand, seems to have been writtenfrom the beginning (if we take Teddy's revelations at the end of thefilm to be true) where this sequence of tracking down John G. beginsand Leonard's reasons for it. Leonard sets himself up to murder who issupposedly the wrong man knowing that he will forget his own setup.But, when we watch the movie this is the ending. We begin watching"Memento" from the resolution of the conflict when Leonard decides thatTeddy is the John G. who raped and killed his wife and enacts hisvengeance upon him. Whenever a film is presented in a backwards form it's not onlydifficult to follow but difficult to put together and edit properly inthe first place. The director used scenes moving backwards but thebeginnings and endings of each scene overlapped just enough with thefollowing scene. This method I think is what held the film together sowell. It allows the viewer to question what happened just before thecurrent scene while allowing them to see how it connects with theprevious scene.Teddy at one point brings up the possibility of Leonard's pictures andnotes being false and that he has no way to verify them. Leonardreplies by saying that "Memories are an interpretation, not records."Are our memories any better than photos? Aren't they just as difficultto verify? The difference between a Polaroid and our own memory is thata Polaroid is more easily shared with another, though we may not sharetheir interpretation of it. Memories also have a kind of emotionalattachment to them. Certain memories we block out because we havenegative associations regarding them whereas many other memories cometo our mind quickly because they fit into our belief system morereadily.I think that Leonard's photographs and notes represent our memories inpossibly a more manageable form. He does indeed have an emotionattachment to many of them. So attached that he tattoos many of themonto his own skin. He takes photos of those things he deems important.These are the memories he wants to be able to recall. But what of allof the things he sees which he has opportunities to take snap shots ofbut doesn't? He also alters his memories by crossing out notes oncertain photographs and burning others. When he decides that he wantsto kill Teddy in the future he sets himself up by writing on Teddy'sphotograph "don't believe his lies". He's purposely altering the phototo associate it with something negative and to lead him to believeTeddy was his wife's rapist. Others also have the ability to alter his memory to their advantage.Natalie seems like a sympathetic person who's trying to help Leonardbut we later find out that she has played with his memory to make himbelieve she needed help. Teddy also manipulates Leonard's memory manytimes, most obviously by using him as a tool to kill undesirables whocould pass as Leonard's "John G." Others can alter our memories bydisplaying to us that which is false, or by manipulating memories wealready have but may be vague.A number of times in the film Leonard speaks of action. Is it ourmemories that make us who we are or is it the actions we perform?Leonard doesn't seem to be a different person throughout the movie. Hehas the same memories throughout it. His mind always starts off at thesame place. But, do his actions in his different points of awarenessmake him a different person in each? One might argue that since he'sacting from the same belief system that he is the same person. I tendto agree with this. Over and over again he's given the chance ofkilling his wife's rapist. Over and over again he chooses to do so.While he's blocked out the memories of his actions, they all seem to bebased on the same set of beliefs. It's like with the case of SammyJenkis (or Leonard as we later find out). Every time he gave his wifeher insulin shot he did so out of love. He didn't remember that he haddone this already and thus she allowed him to kill her, but he wassimply acting upon those beliefs which he thought was right."Memento" is a true puzzle. I say this because it's not just anincoherent mix of various scenes and various people. Everything isinterconnected and it's up to the viewer to piece the puzzle together.This may imply something about our minds as well. We have thiscollection of scenes and people in our memories and its up to us todecide how we wish to put them into place.

2012-05-08 17:12:29

this movie [isn't good]

this movie is based on a cool concept andyou would think it would be really good.However, it is the most boring movie i haveever seen.

Wayne Malin 2012-05-08 04:19:29

Exhausting but fascinating thriller

A man (Guy Pearce) searches for the man who raped and killed his wife. Oneproblem--he has no long-term memory and forgets things a few minutes afterhe hears them. Another thing--the whole story is shown backwards so youhave to pay strict attention to what's going on. It's difficult (mostmovies don't want you to think) and exhausting but absolutely fascinating. The acting is simply superb, direction assured and the story full ofunexpected twists and turns. Also there were revelations at the end (orbeginning) that totally caught me by surprise. It's not a perfect film--Istill can't figure out what Moss' character was doing in this--but how manyfilms can you name that challenge you and don't treat you like an idiot. This will probably be a bomb (it's way too difficult for an averageaudience), but if you like something different and intelligent this isdefinetely a film to see!

John 2012-05-07 03:22:54

I watched it 3 times!

This is my first review of a movie on IMDB. I am posting a review becausethis movie impacted me more than any movie I have seen in a long, longtime.I love movies where you never know exactly what is going on until thefinalmoment where the truth is revealed. That is the exact purpose of thismovie, because it is trying to achieve the same confusion that the maincharacter is experiencing due to his short-term memory losscondition.I rented this movie and proceded to watch it 3 times back-to-back-to-back.The way Nolan delivers the story to you is handled in a totally unique,exciting way that keeps you guessing the whole time. This is a masterpieceof moviemaking and the art of storytelling.

SittingStill 2012-05-06 22:18:39

When Form Meets Function

I loved Pulp Fiction. I was one of the many who bought into this waveof non-linear storytelling, and believed that the structure as craftedby Quentin was the cat's meow.And then I saw Memento.And I saw it again.And again.Christopher Nolan's gripping story of an amnesiac seeking revenge onthe culprit who caused his condition and raped and murdered his wifetakes the non-linear structure to a whole new level. Most importantly,the structure-- which is told chronologically backwards-- is not thrownin frivolously. Rather, it serves a definitive purpose and complimentsthe story being told: it allows us, the audience, to experience thevertigo, the unknown, that our protagonist experiences. We start withour hero's conclusion, and as the story unfolds, the issue becomes, howdid our hero arrive at this conclusion.Memento further works in taking advantage of a technique utilized soperfectly in Usual Suspects, and to a lesser degree in Fight Club--theunreliable narrator. In this respect, Nolan plays off of the longstanding general principle that the narrator is trustworthy. UnlikeUsual Suspects, however, where the protagonist turned out to beunreliable because he was outright lying, the unreliability of our heroin Memento is not (necessarily) that he was lying, but that hiscondition resulted in a distortion of his perception of what was trueand what was false.Therein rests the underlying theme of Memento. In a film where everycharacter takes advantage of our hero's condition, he conditionshimself to take advantage of his own condition.

edward wilgar 2012-05-05 04:07:22

Stretching it Somewhat

Coincidence has always been a staple of narrative fiction, many films haveused coincidence, in fact more than a few have relied on it but I do feelthat Memento pushes things a bit.Guy Pearce plays an insurance investigator whose first case involves a manwho claims to have no short term memory; he in fact can't make new memories,a very rare condition. After a thorough investigation Pearce refuses theclaim, concluding that the man is faking it. (Even though in a test theclaimant repeatedly picks up an electrified object, forgetting in a matterof a couple of minutes the electric shock he keeps getting)So shortly thereafter, when Pearce surprises a rapist attacking his wife andreceives a blow to the head, what do you think is the outcome? You guessedit, he can't form new memories!The device of telling the story `backwards' has been done before in theHarold Pinter-scripted British drama `Betrayal' and in the Jane CampionAustralian TV-feature `Two Friends'. But perhaps it hasn't been tried in aHollywood movie.Blonded Aussie Pearce does a convincing U.S. accent but I wasn't asimpressed as most were by Memento.

Jamie Ward 2012-05-04 18:00:15

Not as good as it's made out be, sadly.

I was quite disappointed in Memento, what with all the praise it hashad since its release in 2000 and its coveted 27th spot in the IMDb top250. I have also enjoyed two of Christopher Nolan's other later films,so when it came to watching Memento, it was safe to say my expectationswere high.I don't know though, memento just didn't click with me, i found itinteresting for the most part and yes it held my attention, but itlacked any feeling. I mean, the main character has lost his wife, he'sout trying to get revenge, but do we see any remorse or grievances fromhim? Nope, nowhere in Memento is it to be found. In fact, there'shardly any emotion at all present with the exception of the odd burstof unconvincing anger. This distinct lack of heart is what kills anotherwise intelligent and well constructed film.The way in which it truly strikes hard at the movie's core is throughthe characters and their remarkably dull and uninteresting nature. It'snot just the writing either, performances were rather mundane andunremarkable throughout with the odd exception here and there fromPantoliano and Tobolowsky. In fact I wasn't interested in any of thecharacters bar Leonard, but only because I wanted to know who the realkiller was. Now when it got to this actual 'climatic' in the story, alot of people probably loved the twist, but I didn't enjoy it at alland found it terribly anticlimactic. When the credits started rolling,I genuinely felt unfulfilled, which i realise may have been the pointregarding how the character eventually feels at this point but I didn'tbuy it. I felt as if the entire movie had headed towards a solutionthat was surprising yes, but not all surprises are nice ones. This wasa sucker punch and a half.I have to say, I did enjoy the backwards narration of the story. Itsuited the theme of memory loss well and there is a scene where Leonardquestions his wife reading a book that she had read numerous timesbefore that basically gets to the point of why the story is told thisway. There was the odd drag in the middle section of the film wherescenes were sometimes cut a little too soon and frequently, mostnotably the ones involving the character 'Dobb'. As a narration stylehowever, it was a completely original and fresh way to tell a tale.As a whole, memento isn't a bad movie, it is actually quite good butthat's all. There's nothing genuinely remarkable or memorable exceptthe narration style, but then again maybe that was Nolan's intention.

ctomvelu 2012-05-02 07:59:21

And so it goes

Here's another review lost. So let's start all over again. Or shouldthat be, again over all start let's so? In the case of this particularmovie, I guess that would be so. Or should I say, so be should thatguess I. Enough kidding around. A brilliant movie about a man whocommits murder at the outset, and then his story unwinds in reverse(more about this below) so we can understand why. By the end, weunderstand and perhaps even sympathize, as we find the man has beenused, brutally so. It's everything in between that can get a bitconfusing, as the man has short-term memory loss, so everything that'sold is new again two minutes after it happens. Aussie thesp Guy Pearceplays the panicky quasi-amnesiac to perfection. He starts writingeverything down and taking pictures of key scenes in order to remember,and this eventually escalates for no particularly good reason intotattooing key pieces of information on his body. If nothing else, thisgives the director and Pearce an excuse to show off his buff bod a lotfor the gals and gays in the audience. Joe P., wearing a truly bizarretoupe, and Carrie Moss of MATRIX fame provide solid support as Pearce'smain manipulators. Now, as to the reverse order of events: I have justrewatched this film for the first time in several years, and franklysee no purpose in running the story backward. I am not sure I did thefirst time, either. I am sure director Christopher Nolan had hisreasons, but for the life of me I cannot see why. If you get the DVD,you of course can run it in the proper sequence, and I believe there iseven a version available that does exactly this. So don't let thisreverse-order gimmick stop you from watching and enjoying this tidylittle thriller.

reduct101 2012-05-01 21:30:00

For the reviewers that complain of "plot holes"

*** This comment doesn't directly contain a spoiler, but it doesreference a website(http://www.memorylossonline.com/spring2002/memlossatmovies.htm) thatwould spoil the movie for anyone that hasn't yet seen it ***The first time I saw this movie, I thought it was one of the mostintriguing films I'd ever seen. However, I didn't think it would holdup to repeated viewing because much of the plot complexity is achievedby careful editing, which surely couldn't work second time around.Also, I thought I had the plot mostly figured out and didn't think I'dgain that much from another viewing (especially since the soundtrackand visuals are nothing special). Note on the editing: the story is not simply told "backwards" as somepeople would have you believe (each scene's time-line goes in the rightdirection!) but the scenes are placed (mostly) in reverse order. Thenarrative in Pulp Fiction also benefits from the order in which certainevents are told and I still don't find that device having any adverseeffect on my enjoyment of that movie. Also, I think that some peoplefail to realize that the main character is trying to make sense of hisrecent past and we are seeing events unfurl as he tries to piecetogether his "evidence" and use his powers of logic to uncover thetruth (while other characters try to deceive him).I'm glad to say that I was mostly wrong about having the plot figuredout first time around, because I'm just as confused this time - I gotto the end of the film and came to a different conclusion. I supposethis is one of the strongest features of this movie - there is nocertainty. The "facts" need to be treated with suspicion and theirworthiness needs to be judged. You have to interpret each scene(presented to you not from the main character's memory of course, butinstead the result of his applied logic and reasoning). Even then, youcan put any spin on it you like. I assumed that I wouldn't be asengaged with the movie as I was the first time, but instead I foundthat I was analyzing the clues in a different way. The first time Iwatched it, I expected a big reveal, as in the "Usual Suspects" anduntil now I thought I'd got it.I have just finished watching this movie for the second time and foundmyself drawing different conclusions from it. In fact, I'm leftthinking that I could watch this movie a third time, prejudiced by mysecond viewing, and still come up with a different interpretation.There are many people who have commented on this film stating that itis full of plot holes. Few of these people care to explain what theseplot holes are. Some do, and most of those people take issue with themain character's memory loss in that he remembers certain things, butnot others. http://www.memorylossonline.com/spring2002/memlossatmovies.htm Is worthtaking a look at if you have already seen the movie and wish to read aninformed critique on the way that "short-term" memory loss is handledin the movie. To quote from this source: "Leonard Shelby suffers from profoundanterograde amnesia, which is depicted accurately in the film". Thearticle goes on to infer that Shelby suffers from psychogenic memoryloss in addition to anterograde amnesia. This would explain whyapparently Shelby doesn't want to accept the truth when he discoversit.Usually, when I suspect the integrity of the premise upon which a workof fiction (or supposed fact) is based, I find that my suspicions arejustified. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the research donefor the book (upon which Memento's screenplay is based) is accurate andforms a powerful device to enrich the plot and engage the viewer, evenfor two (or perhaps more) viewings. Still, you can't beat the confusionyou feel as you're watching it the first time.

2012-04-29 09:17:28

Worth watcing twice

Like The Usual Suspects and The Limey before it, the "truth" if you will about Memento is not told during the actual film, but rather the writer has decided to leave it up to the viewer to fill in the blanks. Post modern and how.What Chris Nolan does give us is one heck of great film which will keep you absolutely glued to your chair. I even suggest watching it with someone so you can bounce ideas off of each other during and after the movie. Things slowly begin to unravel during Memento, and the end manages to completely unglue everything you thought had figured out concerning Guy Pierce's very well acted character, Leonard Stanley. My friend and I have come up with three possible scenarios, which range from plot loophole to a deranged scerial killer with charm. I'm going to have to study it further.Oh, the DVD extras are a complete waste of time and contribute nothing to the actual, wonderful movie. I really enjoyed Memento and am very glad that I own it. So i can watch it again and again and etc.

spanishmasta 2012-04-29 02:15:42

If you want a thriller try The Usual Suspects

Frankly, I was astounded when I saw that this film was ranked number 9 inthe top 250 films ever made. Actually no, i was disgusted. This film,however clever and witty it is, does not live up to this ranking. I am ahuge fan of the film The Usual Suspects, and was disappointed to find thatthis film also ranked first place under the category of thriller. Rightabove The Usual Suspects. Memento is a very clever film, yet it does notcreate the pull that a thriller needs because it takes so long to tell whatis happening. In other words, the movie goes by kind of slowly. Anothermute point that caught my attention was the ending. Although it left theviewer with something to think about, it didn't give you the " oh-mygosh-that's-fricken-cool" feel that a thriller is supposed to leave youwith. To see a truly classic example of a real thriller, you need to seeThe Usual Suspects. I do, however, recommend this film. It uses a uniquebackwards storyline that makes it very interesting to watch. Guy Pearcedoes an excellent job playing a character who cannot produce new memories,and Joe P. delivers his always entertaining performance. Although itdoesn't deserve the great praise up to the point of #9, I do believe thatthis film is worth any thriller-buffs time.

skamikazi 2012-04-26 03:29:46

Absolutely the best movie I have seen in years.

A buddy of mine went to see memento and commented on how utterly horrible itwas. This is coming from someone who considers Quentin Tarrantino-esquemovies are paramount and anything other is a fake or a bad movie. This isalso coming from someone who went to the restroom during the movie one time.Let me just say that if you go to the restroom, pick up your keys, look intoyour box of candy, sneeze, blink, or otherwise remove your eyes from thescreen for any more than 3 seconds then you have just wasted your time andmoney. This movie is not for the inattentive and restless. You must focusall of your attention unto the story that is jigsawed before you. Thismasterfully directed movie makes me wonder why hasn't this been done before?The answer is as simple as this. To make a movie of this caliber takes adirector who works hand in hand with the writer. In this case ChristopherNolan is both director and writer and displays pure genius in the way thatthe movie is not written straight through from the beginning to end. Thebest way to describe the format and styling would be a backwards "leapfrog"approach. That's as simply as you can put a movie as complex as this one. Itis a mystery and drama that makes you feel sorry for Leonard, the maincharacter. Without saying too much he has a mental condition where he cannotcreate new memories and has a short term memory problem where even fiveminute conversations fade just as quickly as the scenes leapfrog around eachother. Combine all of this with some serious twists and turns will leave youdumbfounded in the best meaning of the word. It is truly a masterful workwhich needs to be seen to be believed. My congratulations to Mr. Nolan formaking the most unique and captivating motion picture around.

Raul Faust 2012-04-26 02:17:40

do I have such bad taste?

You know, this movie has everything to be an awesome movie. The mainactors, Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss deserve an Oscar for such aprofessional acting. The originality of "Memento" is also pleasant, Imyself had never seen a similar story in a movie. But something in thisplot didn't satisfy me. The story was very confusing, there areflashbacks all the time, and it becomes boring once we get lost in themystery.I have to admit I didn't make it to the end... as stated before, once Igot lost in the story it became very boring. And it's not my fault as aviewer to don't get things straight: they (the writers) are supposed tomake me want to follow their thoughts, otherwise movies wouldn't beclassified as entertainment.

TheDuke-2 2012-04-23 02:50:43

Best Picture

This is a fantastic movie. One that is edited with precision and awonderful touch. There are Dvd's out there that can allow you to watch thismovie the "traditional way" but if you want to enjoy this movie for it'soriginality and creativity, then watch it the way the Director wants you tosee it. Excellent, thoughtful and deserving of an Oscar.

MacaulayConnor 2012-04-22 10:47:09

Lost his memory

...and his brain. For example: Why on earth isn´t he using a dictaphone? Youknow some sort of recording device!?Spoilers: He can remember after all always to bring that camera and thepictures. Why not record your impressions on tape like "I parked a blueChevy outside the Seven Eleven". Would be so much easier. Oh, my mistake.But some kind of wonder he can recall his car and where he parked. But hecan not remember that Carrie-Ann is double-crossing him.So if you don´t care for any logic in a movie and you are willingly fo fallfor a gimmick namely telling something backwards this is the right movie foryou. Macaulay J. Connor still 1/10

Collin Souter 2012-04-22 06:09:41

Christopher Nolan has written an ingenious script, the likes of which you can't believe a single human being can write. Bring a friend. You'll want the company afterwards.

2012-04-21 17:02:18

Messing You Up

Most people I know were messed up by this movie. I was no exception, but while it seemed to be the plot that messed other people up, it was the theme that got me. I won't divulge just what the theme of the movie is. You can't miss it, since the protagonist pretty much spells it out near the end. Suffice it to say that the theme reduces to a direct question that Leonard asks of himself. And by the end of the film, we have come to identify with Leonard just enough to find ourselves asking ourselves the same question. And it's neither a pretty nor comforting question. But it's definitely one worth asking.