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Memento (2000)

8.6
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Ratings: 8.6/10 from 508,161 users   Metascore: 80/100
Reviews: 1,948 user | 248 critic | 34 from Metacritic.com

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

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Writers:

(screenplay), (short story "Memento Mori")
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Title: Memento (2000)

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Top 250 #34 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 46 wins & 33 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
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Leonard
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Teddy
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Kimberly Campbell ...
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Larry Holden ...
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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. Written by Scion013

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Some memories are best forgotten

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some drug content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

11 October 2000 (France)  »

Also Known As:

Amnesia  »

Filming Locations:

 »

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

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Nolan's first choice for the role of Leonard was Alec Baldwin. See more »

Goofs

When Dodd pulls his red vehicle into view after Leonard turns off the road to see what he was harassing him about, the camera crew is reflected on the side as the truck moves from the right side of the frame to the left. See more »

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.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Bum Reviews: The Dark Knight Rises (2012) See more »

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.
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Confusion, uncertainty, and paranoia as an art form: possibly.
25 January 2001 | by (newcastle, UK) – See all my reviews

If I told you the entire plot of this film it really wouldn't matter as it is an exquisite paean to the subjectivity of memory and therefore is in itself ambiguous; the ‘truth' of it is up to you. You come out of the cinema questioning yourself, your memories, your truths. Nothing in this film is as it seems, and yet paradoxically everything is as it seems. We see everything through Guy Pearce's characters' (Lenny) eyes, unfortunately he has no short-term memory so cannot form new memories. He would have already forgotten the first sentence of this review. He lives in snapshots of life; his only form of memory is his Polaroid camera, just like in the excellent German film Wintersleepers; also (partly) about a short-term memory disorder.

In this film Lenny takes snapshots to remember who people are, where he now lives, his car, everything. As you can imagine this is perfect for paranoia, suspicion, uncertainty, confusion, and betrayal. And that's exactly what you get in extreme doses. The difference between this film and Wintersleepers however is that Memento is entirely from Lenny's perspective. This therefore creates an imaginative, creatively unsurpassable film. The film begins where it should end, so far so trite, but here's the beauty, we, like Guy Pearce, learn in fragments what's going on. It is therefore perfect for those who love to second guess what's going to happen, who did what, who's doing what and why. The beauty of this film though is that my interpretation could be so different from yours, and neither of us could be sure whose interpretation is the right one; if there is a right one at all. Nothing is certain, nothing is clear. Another beauty of this film is the way it is filmed and edited. Pieces are shown a number of times with no real linear link between them, just like it would be if we ourselves had a memory disorder, and then they are cut up and edited next to things that happen either before or after it. It's just like holding ten different and linearly distinct Polaroids in your hand and having a short-term memory disorder. Excellent.

I'm not even sure if watching it again will make things any less ambiguous, but then who cares? The ambiguity is what makes this a great film, if it wasn't so cut up, or from Lenny's perspective it would be both very short and trite; and lacking in tension, suspense and interest. But as it stands it has all three, isn't trite and says so much about humanity. Oh, and the plot? It really doesn't matter, all you need to know is that everything about this film is indicative of the subjectivity of memory, of our experiences and interpretations of all that happens to us. Nothing will seem as black and white as it did beforehand. It will make you question every memory you have, almost as much as possessing a psychology degree, as I do! So, go and see it: be confused, acknowledge the frailty of all you know to be true, and then imagine the freedom of actually being Lenny, and then the horror of having nothing, nothing but the reliance of a pen and a Polaroid camera to know who you are.


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Message Boards

Recent Posts
Leonard wearing Jimmy's clothes? paulfg42
Memento or Prestige? Which one you like better? dudekac
Teddy is not lying to Lenny and here's why. jeevese
Memento in chronological order...a whole different story! sn939
The note behind the 'Freddy's bar' disc is..... pratap_njrc
Love this movie, but plot hole...? ajdiver77
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