Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is a man who suffers from
anterograde amnesia from a knock to the head on the same night that his wife
was killed. The affliction means that although he can remember things from
before that night, he is unable to store any new information for more than just
a couple of minutes. His lack of short term memory causes huge problems for
Leonard, especially as he is in the middle of a man hunt to track down his wife’s
killer. In his pursuit Leonard is aided or hindered (he’s not quite sure) by a
man named Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and a woman called Natalie (Carri-Anne Moss).
All Leonard has to rely on are photos with notes written by himself and tattoos
drawn all over his body which point to clues and reminders.
I shouldn’t be surprised that Memento is completely mad, difficult to follow and ingenious all at
once as Director Christopher Nolan has since followed it up with the likes of Inception as well as his multi-billion
dollar Dark Knight franchise. As
twisted and confusing as Inception was
though it has nothing on Memento which
is presented in two separate but ultimately converging narratives. The first is
filmed in black and white and is presented in a traditional linear way with
scene following scene until the finale. The second and certainly more unique
narrative strand is in colour and opens with the film’s finale before working
its way back to the opening. The result is an incredibly complex and often
frustrating plot which can leave you with more questions than answers.
