This is a movie review about the film, "Memento". I am not actually a movie critic or an analyst, but I was able to come up with this paper because we were asked by our Professor. Well, setting it aside, I would also want to share this film to everyone. Click the link to see the movie trailer: MEMENTO - TRAILER
IT IS DEFINITELY A MUST SEEN MOVIE.
WARNING: This paper contains spoilers.
Where Is The Missing Puzzle Piece?
The director’s way of telling the story backwards made it more interesting. We knew how the story ended but not how it begun. We have no idea of why or how it happened. The reverse plot works because you have to piece together the past from the future. In addition to this, it gave me much confusion about unresolved situations with unanswered questions. These made me believe that “Memento” can be considered as a jigsaw puzzle having a missing piece.
The starting plot showed a Polaroid photo of a dead man lying on the floor. Suddenly, the hand holding the photo shakes it as if he was waiting for the Polaroid to develop but the picture fades instead. When the blank photo goes back to the camera and the gun and bullet flies back to the hand of the man, I first thought that I am watching a magical film. But then I realized that I am watching events unfold in reverse. The way it was filmed made me think that I have the same dilemma as Lenny, the protagonist.
Leonard “Lenny” Shelby is a former insurance investigator who is hunting for the man known only as John G. who he believed killed and raped his wife. During the incident, Leonard suffers a blow to the head which destroys his short-term memory. The last thing he remembers is his wife dying. He cannot remember any recent events. He can meet the same person a hundred times and would not know their names or who they are. Without a short-term memory to guide him, Leonard relies on Polaroid photos, notes and some freaky tattoos to assist him on his way through vengeance.
During his quest, he crosses paths between two people. Teddy and Natalie portrayed small roles as Lenny’s so-called “friends” who seem like good persons. Earlier scenes hint that they were helping him in his search. They are offering friendly advices and clues to move the investigation forward. Although at the first half of the movie, I felt that both of them are only using Lenny and take advantage on his condition. I even thought for once that they were involved on the death of his wife. I have made many conclusions on my mind but the extent of their relationship to Lenny is not clear for me until the end of the film. However, their real motives were revealed at the end.
The movie have also shown the chronological black and white sequence of Lenny in a hotel while talking to the phone about Sammy Jankis, the man who suffered from the same condition as Lenny does. Of course, big revelations where made at last minutes of the film.
With respect to the performances of the casts of the movie, I can say that they really gave an astonishing effect to the viewers. They made me care about their own characters. Even though this movie was too confusing at time, the lead actor’s well-balanced portrayal kept my full attention and gave me excitement to every scene. Supports were provided by the antagonists, Teddy and Natalie who have given us splendid performances. But the real star here is Christopher Nolan, the director. I am actually a fan of his memorable films. Nolan is really the best! I have already seen two of his movies before watching “Memento”. And I can say that this thrilling and intriguing movie is my favorite. Although it was obvious that this movie is not addressed to everyone considering its complexity, I am so sure that the viewers will still be entertained because of the unintentional comedy factors of the film and also the significance of the whole story in real life situations.
Additionally, this film was very strenuous to analyze because of its contemplative arrangement or how it was edited, which is the best aspect of the movie. So if I were to find inconsistencies in the movie, I admit that it would be difficult for me. Yet, I was able to identify some inconsistent scenes by doing repetitive viewings. The movie leaves a lot of unanswered questions to the viewer to decide. Is Lenny and Sammy the same person? The image and detailed memory of Sammy, his wife and Lenny cannot both be true. If that so, Lenny did seem like an unsophisticated person in some of the flashbacks, especially in the scenes with Sammy’s wife. Did Lenny’s wife get murdered? Is she diabetic? If Leonard cannot form new memories, how does he know he has his condition? When he does not know what he’s doing, he always seeks for his Polaroid photos and notes for reminders, but how did he know that they were there? How about the image of him in bed with his wife while he has the “I’ve done it” tattoo? I really do not know how, why and when it was removed. Obviously, there is no end in this film. It will resonate throughout your life forever. You will always end up finding the missing puzzle piece in the perfectly fitted story of “Memento”.
Indeed, this movie gave us a much deeper understanding about how unreliable our memory was. Since our senses and memory all lie to us, it is our responsibility to know what to believe. There is absolutely nothing we can be sure of because we simply believe what we choose to. If we do not have any memories, we will not experience time at all.
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