My second review for my blog is on one of my personal favourite movies of all time by my favourite director; Christopher Nolan. Yup, he's the guy who directed the two Batman movies and whose new movie, 'Inception' is coming out sometime this year. However, this movie came out before he made it big in Hollywood and upon viewing, you could see how hassle-free it seems to have been made, production-wise. No big 'splosions, no crowd-pulling A-listers, just a pure solid story. And that's why I love his movies; he is equally adept at handling high-budget blockbuster flicks as he was with low budget, location-shot movies. But I'm being a bit of a fan boy here so let's get back to 'Memento'.
This movie tells the story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a short-term memory loss amnesiac former insurance-claims investigator who, despite his condition, goes in search of the man who causes his amnesia and also his wife's death in a house break-in. Given his condition, he extensively takes notes and photographs in the course of his investigation and he is particularly suspicious of people. Despite his mistrust in people, two seemingly helpful characters pay special attention on him and also help him in his pursuit. Now what's mind-blowing about this movie is that it is told out of sequence, with things that happen chronologically in the end are put at the beginning the movie and as the movie progresses, we are essentially also moving closer towards the beginning of the chronological story. And at the same time, a subplot is also spliced into the movie in a linear order, making the story disorienting, but not in a bad way. In the end, these two plots will merge in such a powerful way that you would have to watch it again to understand because by the end; your understanding of the plot, the characters, everything would have been turned on its head. And trust me, when it comes to Christopher Nolan's movies, you would actually want to watch it over and over again. And for me, one indication that a movie is exceptional is when you keep coming back to revisit it from time to time.
I'm refraining myself from saying that everything about this movie is GOOD so I'll try to be a bit more detailed:
1) the script is solid and water tight and there are almost no plot-holes that Chris Nolan's detractors can use as ammo;
2) it's use of perfectly-timed humour. Given that this is quite a heavy movie, Christopher Nolan was careful in using homour to lighten up the mood just a teeny weeny bit. It's not that there's a lot of it in 'Memento, but when it's there, it's when it is very much needed and used sparingly, just the right amount. In my humble opinion, solid scripts and intelligent use of humor are among Nolan's strongest points and also his trademarks.
The BAD: seriously I can't think of any. Apart from it being a little confusing at times. But it's nothing that someone with an average level of intelligence can't handle.
So my VERDICT for this movie is... 9.5/10! 'Memento' is an exceptional early movie from Nolan that introduces all movie-goers to his masterful handling of brilliant yet at-times convoluted stories that would otherwise have dissipated in other less-capable hands.
MOVIE TRIVIA: Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss who star in this movie had previously worked together in 'The Matrix'. I wonder why Nolan didn't cast Keanu Reeves as Leonard, since he was already doing that with the two?
P/S: Now I remember. Keanu Reeves can't act to save his life.
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