Memento (2000)

A man creates a strange system to help him remember things; so he can hunt for the murderer of his wife without his short-term memory loss being an obstacle.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

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

Stars:

Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Top 250 #42 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 50 wins & 42 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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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Memento Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mémento

Filming Locations:

Hill Crest Inn, 9111 Sepulveda Blvd, North Hills, 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

Denis Leary turned down the role of Teddy.

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Goofs

Natalie's hair in the restaurant scene.

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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

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

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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

can't believe how much I'm still thinking the day after

So the "innovative" concept of filming out of sequence has been cliche for at least a few years now, but here's a film that makes it work far better than its been shown in a while.

Having read the reviews and talked to others who saw it, I thought that I'd go into the movie figuring everything out right away and declaring the concept unworkable. I couldn't be further from the truth. This movie does things to your head that are illegal in some countries. Portrayed (for all intents and purposes) backwards, it forces you to think in the same way that our lead character, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce being more brilliant than usual) does. Suffering from a condition that renders him unable to remember anything for more than a few minutes, he is searching for the man who raped and killed his wife. Since each seen lasts no more than 15 minutes before jumping back to the what happened before that, our perceptions are shattered in the same way.

Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano (both of The Matrix) put in great performances that leave you guessing; simultaneously endearing and revolting.

Overall I left the film trying to figure out what was what, and I'm still not sure. This film noir concept shouldn't work, but it does so wonderfully.