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Jason Maloney reviews
Pathe
- Cert:
- Cat.no: P 9016 DVD
- Running time: 109 minutes
- Year: 2000
- Pressing: 2002
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English
- Widescreen: 2.35:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £17.99
- Extras: Trailer, Interview, Website, Biographies, Tattoo Gallery, Shooting Script, Memento Mori
Director:
- Christopher Nolan
Cast:
- Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
Where to start? Not at the beginning, as far as this ingenious thriller from Christopher Nolan is concerned. The concept of a narrative that plays in reverse might sound gimmicky, a case of being clever for the sake of it, yet despite the inverted timeframe and stop-start structure, Memento never feels unnecessarily contrived.
How can this be possible? Several reasons. Firstly, the central character (a remarkable performance from Guy Pearce) suffers from a clinically-diagnosed case of Short-Term Memory Loss, induced by an “incident” – a blow to the head while attempting to prevent the brutal rape and murder of his wife. An unwavering desire for revenge is all that drives him on, as he tries to piece together the truth behind who perpertrated the crime. Yet, because he is completely unable to remember anything from more than a few minutes before, there is always the risk of uncertainty about every aspect of his life. It leaves him at the mercy of any unscrupulous people he comes into contact with, as well as his own selective pre-accident memories.
With no recent recollections to verify his existence, an elaborate routine of taking polaroids, leaving reminders all around and indelibly marking himself with important “facts” becomes his means of making sense of who he is, where he is, who he knows, and what he is supposed to be doing. It’s a form of conditioning by repetition and calling on instinct to compensate as best it can for his affliction… but is it the totally foolproof system he believes it to be?
Secondly, director Nolan takes the inspired option of breaking each section of this puzzle into short overlapping scenes, mirroring Pearce’s brief and repetitive attemps to find answers before his memory fails again, while building up a fractured but revealing overall picture as more details are uncovered.
Thirdly, Memento’s back-to-front style – again retracing events in the same manner as Pearce’s character is forced to do – accentuates the sense of confusion and distortion, forever leading the viewer a merry dance and playing on Pearce’s need for regular visual aids to keep him on track. The further back the story regresses, the greater each revelation impacts upon all that has gone before – or in real chronological terms, all that will come after…see how complex this film is? The Usual Suspects has nothing on Memento.
Almost two hours of flashbacks might not appear the most appealing method of holding the viewer’s attention, but this is that rare cinematic beast – a genuinely absorbing psychological adventure which surprises at every turn. Memento requires a greater level of attention than is perhaps customary these days, but the pay-off is more than a just reward for any effort.
Typical of its undemonstrative style, the film pulls off its final, major, about-turn with the briefest and subtlest of unexpected manoeuvres. Literally a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, it will immediately make repeated viewings an absolute certainty.
That’s at least one thing to be sure of.
Check out Jason’s homepage: The Slipstream.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.