Memento
5.09.2009
Rating: R
Movie Release Date: April 27, 2000
DVD Release Date: September 4, 2001
Plot 411: A man is searching for his wife's killer but is hindered with a kind of amnesia that only allows him to hold on to short periods of new memories.
Review: This is the best non-linear film I've ever seen because it is so compelling that it leaves you on the edge of your seat. You really feel for Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce, as he searches to find his wife's killer no matter how many times his brain resets itself. The movie unfolds in two worlds - one of black and white, one of color. The viewer is on the same ride as Leonard, unsure of what is real and what isn't. We learn new facts as he does. We suspect new people together. We are wary of others, just as he is. The audience and Leonard are faced with a myriad of choices, but we must both select which facts we believe and which facts we disregard. We must even question Leonard on his reliability and note-taking. This is a psychological thriller that'll really ring your brain.
Watch It: For the hardest brain strain you'll have in a 113 minutes.
Skip It: If you just want a straightforward thriller because this one will throw you for some loops and can be frustratingly confusing at times.
Trailer:
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2 comments:
sky-dor..
so i paged through your reviews until finding one that we've both seen in order to "compare notes"..
and, i find that i'm in complete agreement on memento.. as you so descriptively note, the genius of this movie is that it induces in the watcher exactly the same experience as the protagonist.. w're just as lost and baffled as he is.. and as you point out, not your usual linear fare, but very compelling nonetheless..
dor-sky (one of my nicknames in HS, pron. ski)..
one of many associated word games..
jim
Originally watched this one because I thought Guy Pearce was hot. Watched it again before doing this review and was really blown away by the structure of the movie.
I can't even imagine what it'd be like to film something like this and keep the plot straight. As an actor, it must've been frustrating to try and prepare for a role like this. What you know at each point in time is never the same. It made me think of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway" and its stream of consciousness storytelling.
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