Imagine seeing the world upside down and yet be able to make out everything that’s going on in the same way as we do.Imagine sitting in a roller coaster that goes down before going up and yet it still gives you as much of a thrill that you get sitting in a conventional one.Now imagine watching a movie in which the mystery unfolds in the most unusual way possible i.e starting from the end and ending at the start, a kind of a well fragmented flashback(again not a conventional flashback).that’s Memento.
I know for those who still haven’t watched this movie, my previous sentence would make little sense.As we are used to seeing scenes progressing one after the other and getting along with the story.But what if, someone plans to reveal scenes one before another and yet is not only able to maintain the coherence of the plot but also has been able to make it all the more gripping.That is exactly what hugely talented director Christopher Nolan(his other creations include the Dark Knight, Prestige and Batman begins and of whom it is said that he is totally incapable of making a bad movie) and his editors have managed to achieve in this movie.Hence I wasn’t surprised at all when recently it was declared as the movie with the best climax ever.
Leonard or Lenny(played by Guy Pearce) suffers from anterograde amnesia which resulted from a serious injury to his head.Now I am no medical expert on this disease and hence had no reason to object whatever was shown in the movie regarding this particular condition(as Leonard explains to everyone in the movie).Having this illness means he has a very very short term memory and forgets everything in minutes.But strangely, he remembers everything that happened in his life before the accident(in which he suffered the head injury)very clearly.One strange and almost incomprehensible illness, isn’t it?
But Lenny has devised ways of how to live with it and still pursue his only goal in life, Vengeance on his wife’s murder.He keeps a bunch of references in the form of polaroid photoes with his hand written remarks, all the time about the people he meets, his car, his daily use objects, his motel room and everything that he needs.He gets himself a lot of permanent tattoos which remind him of the most important facts which lead him in his quest for revenge.But he is no bloodthirsty murderer.He is hugely reasonable and has his sense of humour almost intact.All he wants to do is kill Johny G, the man he has identified as the killer of his wife.He is frequently accompanied by Teddy(played by Joe Pantliano) a loud talking man who seems to know a lot about his past and although making fun of his illness, Teddy always keeps on advising him on who to look out for.Lenny also meets Natalie(Played by Carrie Anne Moss), a mysterious bar waitress who seems sympathetic towards him and offers to help.
As I have already mentioned it’s not the story(which is great by the way), but the depiction which is the biggest highlight of this terrific movie.Each scene is followed by what preceeded it.This continuous backward narration is punctuated by some scenes where Leonard keeps on talking on the phone about his past life(the one he remembers) to an anonymous caller.As a result of this style of storytelling the viewer almost gets a fair idea of what’s going through Lenny’s memory-challenged brain.Now that’s a huge achievement on the part of the director, screenplay writer and the editor.I was too immersed in the narrative to notice any flaws exhibited by the actors, who definitely have done a great job, especially Guy Pearce .
It truly is an unforgettable experience and you might have to view it more than once to completely unravel the suspense sorrounding the plot.Unique is one word which comes to my mind when I think of Memento and another word would be **unforgettable.
P.S**-I had seen this movie some months back and recently went for Ghajini.Needless to say, I found out a hundred flaws in the Aamir Khan starrer as I kept on comparing it with Memento(I am not saying that’s the right thing to do).