Memento

Memento is directed by Christopher Nolan. Other films he has directed are; Inception, Dark Night, Batman Begins and The Prestige as well many others. He was born in London, 1970 and has been making films since he was 7. Nolan’s characters often have a psychological handicap and fit the conventions of the thriller genre e.g. Leonardo De Caprio’s character is inception gains a memory handicap similar to Lenard.   

Memento is about Widower trying to find the man who murdered his wife John G however Lenard has a condition known as short term memory loss. To help himself remember things, Lenard takes pictures of important information and tattoos key facts on his body. The film is separated into two sequences, one in black and white and the other in colour. The coloured sequences are shown in chronological order and the black and white sequences are flash backs showing to the audience what’s previously happened. The main characters other than Lenard are Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) who both take advantage of Lenard’s handicap.

Memento has a very unique opening sequence and fits the conventions of the thriller genre. Firstly we see the opening credits and some pictures. This pictures are of murders which create the idea of crime. After the opening sequence we see a rewound sequence of Lenard killing Teddy. There is some music that sounds almost like a heartbeat this helps set the thriller genre.

In my opion Memento is a very good thriller however it is fairly confusing so is advised to watch it more than once. I personally find the repition of some scenes slightly tedious. I would recommend this film to any fan of the thriller genre or Christopher Nolan.

Chris Woods