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And then you turn it all
around: Memento
by Christian De Matteo
Super
I'd missed the film in theaters and couldn't
wait to see it. Now, I can't wait to see it
again. Because it was the greatest movie ever
made? No, though excellent, I'm dying to see it
again, because I know I need to. The movie begins
at the end of the story and goes backwards, one scene
building on the one that happened after it...or before
it...or...well, it depends on how you look at it.
The
film seems ripe for disappointment as its opening scene
seems to let you know who the butler who did it
was. I thought to myself, what kind of a moron
starts a mystery at the end and expects there to be any
suspense left over? A brilliant, writing and
directing moron named Christopher Nolan, that's
who. The movie ends up being very suspenseful, as
suspenseful, in fact, as it would be if you were really
in the situation, because that's where he puts
you. You know nothing but what the main character
knows, and that's very little, and by going backwards
Nolan makes sure you stay in the same amount of dark as
his main character, Lenny, is in.
Lenny (played by Guy Pearce, an extraordinary actor who
truly made his mark in L.A.
Confidential) is a man with no short term
memory, who must write down absolutely everything while
trying to figure out the mystery of who murdered his
wife. His body is a notepad and he walks
everywhere with a Polaroid camera so he can snap shots
and write notes about who to trust and who not to
trust. Pearce is completely believable and keeps
the viewer fully intrigued and on edge for the whole
movie, while also providing a few refreshing seconds of
humor so you don't have a heart attack.
Complete with Wachowski Brother graduates Carrie-Anne
Moss and Joe Pantoliano playing very complex characters,
Memento is by far the best modern day noir to be truly
worthy of the genre heading "Noir". The
film, while not ripping off anything, could easily be a
Raymond Chandler, or more likely, a Jim Thompson scenario.
If
you know already that you like good mysteries done in
the noir tradition, or if you are consistently amazed
(as I am) by Pearce's acting, I suggest you save the
rental money and just buy Memento, because you will,
without a doubt want to watch it again and again, to
make sure you caught everything.
This is an excellent film and one I should hope will be
up for Oscars.
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Memento
by
Mark Capitelli
Wimpy
I cannot express my level of
disappointment with this film.
I was really expecting something special,
instead I got a movie hinged on a gimmick. The entire plot of this film centers on the main
character’s loss of long-term memory as he tries to
discover his wife’s murderer.
I think any film that relies upon a gimmick
like this must have something else to offer the
audience. If
the filmmakers took a really good murder mystery and
played it backwards scene-by-scene (as this film does)
showing the audience what really happened, then
perhaps I’d be impressed.
The gimmick of playing the film backwards by
scene was the only thing that held my attention. All in all, the film bored me and left me with the feeling
that I just wasted an evening.
The acting was as shallow as the plot and the
lighting left me feeling ill.
I also thought it was pretty poorly written.
All in all, I think Memento
was a good idea that fell victim to mediocre writing
and filmmaking. If
you are curious about the style with which it was
filmed, then I say check it out, but otherwise I’d
say to spend your money elsewhere.
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