Friday, December 7, 2018

Movie review: Memento

 
 Leonard is unable to create new short-term memories due to injuries to his brain received while he tried to stop the rape and murder of his wife. Now focused on hunting down his wife’s murderer/s, Leonard retains memories using Polaroids with notes on the back and tattoos. As the story is told backwards, and from Leonard’s perspective, the film is packed full of twists and turns.

Guy Pearce (Leonard), Carrie_Anne Moss (Natalie), Joe Pantoliano (Teddy), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sammy), Callum Keith Rennie (Dodd).

This one jumps right into the plot allowing character development to flow throughout the film. As the story is told backwards, in roughly 30 second segments (the length of Leonard’s memory), we actually see the end of the story first. But character development shows us that what we believe we have seen may not actually be the truth.
I love how this story is developed. I’ve seen this one a couple of times and find something new to ponder about the story every time. Although the ending is always the same, there are so many possibilities it is hard to actually pin down the end of the story. I also like how the result of events are shown first, then how the events transpired, and things are never what you expect.

Acting is good by everyone in this one. Pearce plays his part very well and has nice chemistry with both Moss and Pantoliano. It was nice to see Moss in something a bit more challenging, much as with Tobolowsky.

Camera work and effects were also nicely done. The film appears to have had a decent budget and good quality is exhibited throughout. Attention to detail, such as how Leonard’s car becomes cleaner and cleaner throughout the film, is very well done.

Overall this is a very enjoyable psychological thriller that has more than enough twists and turns to make multiple viewings interesting. You have to think to watch this movie or it won’t have an impact at all. Plug this one in toward the top of your Must See list.

Violence, foul language, and some drug use so save this one for older teens and above.

Released: 2000
Reviewed: 11.27.18
Star rating: 5 out of 5
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Crime Drama, Suspense, Crime Thriller, Thriller

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

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