Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Motion Picture "Memento" Reviewed

By Jerry Thornton

If you are reading into this article, than you are likely looking to learn a little more about one of the greatest films to be released in the year 2000, "Memento". This film has several different reasons for being as good as it was, and many of these will be discussed within this article, along with a detailed plot synopsis.

While there might be several different things to consider and understand when it comes to a film like this, the best way that you can understand the film is through learning about the important events of the plot. The trouble with this is, the plot is not in chronological order, as most movies would be and therefore this becomes a little bit tricky when you go to detail the events of the film.

So for the sake of this article and the explanation of the film itself, you will simply have to excuse the film being described in chronological order, when in all actuality these events are rather spread out through the film in various orders. The reason for this is the very nature of the film, and without it being so sporadic, the film might not have been as good.

The reason that this film has to be this way, is that the main character, Leonard, suffers from anterograde amnesia, which does not allow him to make new memories. He got this condition from catching two men raping and killing his wife. He killed one of the two, but the other got away after clubbing him in the head and sending him smashing into a mirror.

Throughout the film, several different people are noted to be taking advantage of Leonard and his fragile condition. This can be anything from getting him to rent another room in a motel, or to do someone's dirty work on account that the individual is said to have had something to do with his wife. Any information he deems invaluable to tracking down the other killer, he tattoos to his body.

It isn't long into the story that Lenny gets a call from a guy claiming to be a police officer (later to call himself Teddy) who has information about the whereabouts of the second killer. Lenny believes him and soon he is in route to meet this Jimmy, a slummy drug dealer. Turns out, after Lenny kills him, we learn that he had nothing to do with Lenny's wife's murder.

You meet a number of different folks throughout the story, and you aren't certain at first how they would play into the story if they even do at all. You do presumably learn (along with Leonard) who the second killer and rapist of his wife is. You get a front row seat to how he handles that situation. But this film might not have been so great, if it weren't for impressive performances by Guy Pearce (Lenny) and Joe Pantaliano (Teddy).

"Memento" can be hard to follow if you aren't paying very close attention to it. The film was likely as successful as it was given the nature of the title character's condition and how the events of the film played into the chaos that living without being able to make new memories would inspire.

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