Memento (2000)

"Have I told you about my condition?"

Wanna see Inception this weekend, but can't afford to give up the appendages your local theater charges for a ticket? Well, you can still experience the mind-bending imagination of writer/director Christopher Nolan by picking up his first major film, Memento. Starring English-born Australian actor Guy Pierce (recently appearing in The Hurt Locker) as Leonard, the memory man, this film has a very unique structure: it runs backward. Well, technically, that's only half true. Chronologically, the first scene of the film is at the end of the story. As the movie plays through, each scene you see ends where the last scene you watched began. Confused yet? It's called "reverse chronology" and it's the same structure as the Seinfeld episode where they go to India for the wedding. That episode aired in 1997, three years before Memento was released, so Nolan can't claim to have originated the device, but he implements it masterfully. Spliced in between the backward running scenes are a series of black and white scenes whose relation to the main story is at first unclear. The black and white scenes run in normal forward chronology until they eventually meet the reverse chronology color scenes. It may seem confusing at first, but it's beautifully done and will probably make you want to watch it again once you have a handle on the timeline. There is a special edition of the DVD that allows you to watch the entire story in chronological order, but as far as I'm concerned that misses the point completely.

The real genius of this film is that the unusual structure is not just a gimmick. It serves a higher purpose. Leonard, our protagonist, has a condition that prevents him from forming new memories. It's a form of amnesia, but not like Jason Bourne's or the type that's been so played out in Hollywood and TV for decades. Leonard knows who he is, he remembers everything from his life up until The Incident, but since that moment, he has been unable to remember anything else for more than a few minutes. As you can imagine, this makes his life rather difficult.

Leonard: "If we talk for too long, I'll forget how we started. Next time I see you, I'm not gonna remember this conversation. I don't even know if I've met you before. "

He keeps his existence manageable through a system involving polaroid photos, notes, and... tattoos. The structure of the film... seeing a scene at a time without knowing what lead up to it... serves to simulate for the audience the experience of living with Leonard's condition. While this alone is an interesting premise for a film, there is MUCH more at play in Leonard's story. He is investigating the death of his wife, which of course can be challenging for someone who can't remember any new information he uncovers. The story is packed full of mistrust, manipulation, and mystery that will keep you guessing right up until the... err.. middle? Yeah.

Pierce gives an outstanding performance in an extremely memorable (no pun intended) role. He's solidly supported by Joe Pantoliano (what ISN'T Joey Pants in?) and his Matrix co-star Carrie-Anne Moss. While the much-anticipated Inception, which opened today, is billed as coming "from the director of The Dark Knight", it was Memento that really made Christopher Nolan a writer and director to watch.

113 minutes
Rated R for violence, language, and some drug content

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UPDATE 20.JUL.10 : saw Inception last night. it did not disappoint.
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Additional Christopher Nolan films:
Following (1998)
Insomnia (2002)
Batman Begins (2005)
The Prestige (2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)