Starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss
He has anger on his face and blood on his hands. Just run-of-the-mill violent revenge, but time is drifting backward.
Cool.
To be cute or funny, a reviewer could say “Memento” (I Remember, R) is the best movie ever to borrow a plot device from a “Seinfeld” episode.
But to compare a heady, refreshing-as-an-oasis-in-the-desert thriller to a clever episode would be a leap in logic. So what if both throw viewers for a loop by starting with the end and cascading backward? Just like a high-end Polaroid, quality matches the pristine moments the pictures contain.
To understand this movie means more than just arriving on time, which never was more important. As the story unfolds, each morsel of information unfurls. And when things start to get too confusing, we head back. Not years or months or days back — this trip takes us moments before the previous segment.
For most movies, using this technique would be an overwrought exercise in theory. But in the hands of the gifted writer/director Christopher Nolan, a tale of murder and intrigue seems so fresh, granting him the vanguard title this movie so desperately deserves.
The beauty arrives in a memorable heartbeat, at least for those of us who can remember such things. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) seems like a normal rugged individual, a cross between Val Kilmer and Brad Pitt. But just try telling him who those fellows are.
Shelby doesn’t have a short-term memory, so don’t tell him you’ve heard it before. Ever since his wife died, he only can remember things for about two minutes at a time. Otherwise, no new memories form.
To combat the condition, he writes on everything in controlled chaos. He has maps, Polaroids and the police file on his wife’s rape and murder. But his greatest memory tool is his body.
Tattoos are hints to his mystery, gathered slowly in his journey and placed where he could notice them. Five clues lead him to the main suspects, and neither he nor the audience knows who really is telling the truth.
Thriller movies have become wrought in convention, especially in OK or decent fare like last summer’s “What Lies Beneath.” Given the new ideas, though, the viewer becomes engaged immediately because no one really knows what happens next (or before, given the plot).
But writing excellence doesn’t translate effectively without some good performances. Pearce has a smooth, rational quality to him that contrasts nicely with the chaotic surroundings. With each development, he works up a strong empathy in the viewers, making them scream “REMEMBER, DANG IT!” Teddy and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano) provide a strong backdrop that eliminates background noise and confusion. They play ambiguous very well, helping the movie steam toward a surprising and satisfying conclusion.
The lasting thought, and the one that spurs the movie from good to great, is found in a simple rumination. As Leonard contemplates his lot in life, he wonders if he is able to grieve because he can’t comprehend the time that should heal his wounds. It’s quite deep, quite profound and quite memorable.
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