Reminder of pasts which can’t be forget is memento, chistopher nolan’s gift to cinema world. After Memento in number of languages around the world, movies were made where some way or other the narration or plot were taken inspired in India Gajini. That’s what is cinema which inspires other language speaking people to make movies, impact of it is excellent. Memento is truly a exceptional & rare feat in modern film making in that it manages to be new, fresh, trendy, & thrilling without ever tiring for a single frame. The way Nolan has written it & directed it Memento becomes question mark for audiences & critics around the world. Its such rare cinema that it demands repetitive value, not once but number of times.
The way process or the technique used by Nolan make Memento a classic else its just another crime flick. Still the script is unique in itself , Nolan is mater in creating web of puzzles & leaves in the end for the audience to think what the protagonist will do latest example is Inception. The narration is not in straightway its reverse story telling , its not flashback its reverse narration. As an alternative of beginning with the crime that sets off the manhunt, it starts with the decision hero shooting the villain in the head. From there, the movie constantly jumps back in time in deliberate segments, telling piece by piece what led up to the central character’s violent actions.
Leonard Shelby(Guy Leonard), is insurance investigator, a heartbreaking figure who has suffered two implausible losses, his wife was brutally raped, murdered, & a cruel head trauma has made it impossible for him to form new memories so it becomes Memento for him in a way. Leonard suffers from a atypical form of the suffering that disrupts his ability to keep memories of new events. He can only remember things that happen to him for a brief span of time before they are lost in short after Gajini term used is short term memory loss in this case 15 minutes or so after that he is blank. So to keep things in memory he takes pics & have tattoos around his body, write plentiful notes, the most important of those which he tattoos on his body so that they become permanent. Leonard’s current mission is to find and kill his wife’s murderer, who he believes is a man named John G., a name which is tattooed on his body. The narrative closely follows a phone call Leonard has in which he talks about Sammy Jankis(Stephen Tobolowsky) a former client of his who he believed had the same condition. Leonard is assisted in this mission by a few people apparently independent of each other, including a man named Teddy(Joe Pantoliano) & a woman Natalie(Carrie-Anne Moss). However, each time he meets them, he has no idea who they are, why they are helping him & if indeed they are working toward the same goal as him. In between there comes a one central character Jimmy(Larry Holden) who some way or other helps or forced to help Leonard in his mission. Simple plot the story which is past is in black & white present in colour. In blue ray there is option in which way you want to watch it from credits ending or vice versa.
Nolan has written an inventive script. Yes it has used the same formula the hesitant hero, the two timing , the killer lie in wait closely in the darkness, but the way Nolan structured the script & directed keeps this great flick away from the crap. Script which may looks like an ordinary script but which is not that’s what it make cult.
Like many great classic’s, this film uses voice-over for narration. Dialogue are excellent which goes straight into Leonard’s head as he shows like something is not rite & next words comes out Who is chasing me? These dialogues are the soul of Memento one frame Leonard is in memory, next frame he is lost so contradicting lines should be there which should & is perfect. So addicted with revenge & memory loss, Leonard can’t remember to forget his wife which helps him to move on. In a delectably unassuming way, Leonard tells, shows the meaning behind memories & inclination to create unusual reality. Hat’s off to Legend Nolan.
Every performance has challenges for its actors & they delivered it with ease. Guy Pierce has to remain baffled, appealing & genuine, though imperfect he may be even without the state, in order to gain sympathy & he does till now it is Guy’s best act. His performance will be hooked with you without any doubt. Joe Pantoliano has to convince that he has concealed motives for his actions, he cleverly delivers it. Carrie Anne Moss does a great job as she uses Leonard’s heart in a way to cry on, her act never will allows you to know even little about her motivation.
What makes Memento what it is now is, such a fascinating experience has to do with the fact that once a characters or even main lead steps onto the screen, you won’t know if we should believe everything he or she says. We really don’t know anything. Nolan throws us or force the audiences in memory depressed Leonard’s steps, to know-how a real mind spree blender, one that you can’t believe anybody would have to deal with on a daily basis. During the flick, you would feel your mind toppling. By the end of Memento, confused mind will loosen wildly, nearly appreciatively still feel the effects long after you leave the theatre or now your DVD blue-ray whatever. To discuss the climax you must prepare yourself or should have a company so that you can discuss what he will do now. That is Nolan’s character to leave the climax in hands of audience to decide each have their own views. In short it is one of the best all time crime based cinema because of Nolan’s unconventional script & direction with Guy’s great performance.
I’ve written deliberately in confusing manner because it suits MEMENTO.