Memento (2000)

A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Christopher Nolan (screenplay), Jonathan Nolan (short story "Memento Mori")

Stars:

Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Top 250 #35 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 46 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Guy Pearce	...	Leonard
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Natalie
Joe Pantoliano	...	Teddy
Mark Boone Junior	...	Burt
Russ Fega	...	Waiter
Jorja Fox	...	Leonard's Wife
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Sammy Jankis
Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Mrs. Jankis
Thomas Lennon	...	Doctor
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Dodd
Kimberly Campbell	...	Blonde
Marianne Muellerleile	...	Tattooist
Larry Holden	...	Jimmy

Storyline

Memento chronicles two separate stories of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One story line moves forward in time while the other tells the story backwards revealing more each time.

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Plot Keywords:

memory | short term memory | murder | short term memory loss | polaroid | 

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Taglines:

Some memories are best forgotten

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Memento

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

Amnesia

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$235,488 (USA) (16 March 2001)

Gross:

$25,530,884 (USA) (9 November 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Newmarket Capital Group, Team Todd, I Remember Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After being impressed by Carrie-Anne Moss' performance as Trinity in the 1999 science fiction film The Matrix, Jennifer Todd suggested her for the part of Natalie. While Mary McCormack lobbied for the role, Christopher Nolan decided to cast Moss as Natalie, saying, "She added an enormous amount to the role of Natalie that wasn't on the page".

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Goofs

In the scene where Dodd first comes after Leonard and chases him, his red SUV blocks in Leonard's Jaguar from behind. However, in the next chronological scene (when Leonard gets back to his car and drives away), Dodd's SUV is no longer blocking him in.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Leonard Shelby: [voiceover] So where are you? You're in some motel room. You just - you just wake up and you're in - in a motel room. There's the key. It feels like maybe it's just the first time you've been there, but perhaps you've been there for a week, three months. It's - it's kind of hard to say. I don't - I don't know. It's just an anonymous room.

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Connections

References Clean Slate (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Something in the Air"
(1999)
Music by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels
Lyrics by David Bowie
Performed by David Bowie
Courtesy of RZO Music, Inc./Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Best Movie of 2001 (Thus Far)

Incredible, riveting and powerful. What else could I say? This movie has all of the qualities of classic film noir as well as the magnitude of an original, unique concept that has been tried and tired before but works here.

Guy Pearce has been underrated for years (just think back now to Priscilla and can you believe this is the same guy) and finally might get the recognition here that was at least well-deserved of him back for LA Confidential. Powerful perfomances, well developed story with suspensful buildup of what our main character pieces together little by little makes this a must see.

Easily in my top 100 of all time.