Unusual gimmick of ‘Memento’
provides intriguing experience
 Jeremy
Rea
Staff Writer
The less you hear about "Memento," the more you're
going to enjoy the film. So you probably shouldn't read this at all,
because you're going to learn that it's a one-gimmick movie, and exactly
what the gimmick is.
Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) suffers from short-term
memory loss. He is only certain about the last few minutes of his life.
His affliction stems from a bump on the head, delivered by an unknown
man who raped and murdered his wife.
The last memory Shelby was able to retain was that
of his dying wife on the bathroom floor, an image that drives him in
his hunt for the man who did it. However, his lack of memory is a serious
hindrance, as he rarely knows what is going on.
To compensate, Leonard has developed a system of
notes, Polaroid's, and tattoos to keep him on track. He leaves himself
little notes of what to do next, takes photographs of important people
and places, and tattoos facts about the killer on his body.
Now, here's the thing: the whole movie plays backwards
- the last scene first, and the first last. It's a pretty clever artifice,
and for at least half the movie, it's pretty compelling. Just as often
as Leonard is befuddled, so is the audience.
The fun of it is knowing what happened, and being
intrigued enough to wonder why. It makes for something of a surreal
experience, especially because it's juxtaposed against a flashback that
plays forward.
Writer/director Christopher Nolan is also completely
aware that his movie is a one-trick pony, and never plays it for more
than its worth. Once the premise has been established, he never pats
himself on the back for how clever he is.
He also works to keep the movie going, despite
several overlapping scenes. We only get as much from the scene as Leonard
can remember, a few minutes worth. There are also some genuinely funny
moments, and although they all play on Leonard's condition, it's never
milked too much.
Still, after a while, the repetition starts to
get old, and the movie can't keep itself from you all the way to the
end. Once you've figured it out for yourself, the rest is just obligatory
and pointless. As if to make up for it, there's a silly semi-twist tossed
in at the end, if only to draw more comparisons to "The Sixth Sense."
But "Memento" is still good little noir, and is
worth seeing just for the experience.
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