8.5/10
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Memento (2000)

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A man juggles searching for his wife's murderer and keeping his short-term memory loss from being an obstacle.

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (short story "Memento Mori")
Popularity
422 ( 42)
Top Rated Movies #47 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 54 wins & 55 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

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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:

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Country:

Language:

Release Date:

25 May 2001 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Memento  »

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£90,642 (UK) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

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

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The test given to Sammy Jankis involving the electrified objects is based on a real life case study of a patient commonly referred to as HM, who suffered from the same form of amnesia following surgery to treat severe epilepsy. A doctor repeatedly shook HM's hand with a joy buzzer, shocking him every time. After a few trials, HM refused to shake hands. The test shown in the movie is an illustration that Sammy's condition was not identical to a real life case study, but would not have excluded him from insurance coverage. See more »

Goofs

At the beginning, when Leonard and Teddy arrive at the abandoned building the weather is cloudy, but when they get out of the Jaguar it becomes sunny all of a sudden. 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.
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Connections

References Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) See more »

Soundtracks

Generation Z
(2000)
Written and Performed by Monc
Courtesy of Conglomerated Industries
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Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

 
can't believe how much I'm still thinking the day after
24 May 2001 | by (Connecticut) – See all my reviews

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.


292 of 354 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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Recent Posts
Why Teddy keep helping Leonard if he had already helped him out once? pj-126-208773
Why did Leonard decide to target Teddy? melissaped523
What is the memento in Memento? shreydesai
There is no way to truly know what happened. komedydude85-203-796954
The ending of this movie was just ' full of it ' yehia_5000
Any reasons why Nolan inserted clues supporting Teddy's story if untrue? m-madel
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