The selection for Netflix Canada sucks. I know. Here is a brief review of a movie that is worth your while.
At one point in Memento, Leonard rips duct tape off the mouth of a bloodied, beaten man inside a hotel room closet. He asks the man earnestly: “Who did this to you?”
“You did,” the man responds.
Leonard can’t form new memories. Specifically, he has no short term memory. Given enough time (a few minutes the movie suggests) Leonard forgets what he as doing and why he was doing it.
But Leonard has a purpose. He wants to find his wife’s murderer and kill them. He has a system: polaroids of people with their name on the front and notes on the back, tattoos for facts, and specific pockets for things he needs. He remembers everything up until his wife’s death, so when he “resets” always remembers her death.
The movie is told backwards, with each successive scene being Leonard’s previous action so that by the end we learn where Leonard began. There are also black and white scenes where Leonard is talking on the phone that don’t follow any particular timeline.
It can get confusing. But Memento has a unique character evolution that says who we are one moment might not represent what we are capable of.
As Christopher Nolan’s second feature film, its worthwhile to watch the Dark Knight-Inception director’s history. Few films are quite like Memento.
Sean Ewington is your friendly neighbourhood movie/video game critic, and comic author. He is the co-writer of the Up Up Down Down webcomic and owns and operates 2dreviews. Sean has written for various online publications like Broken Frontier and Brutal Gamer, as well as print publications including the Metro - the world's largest free daily newspaper. 