Memento (2000)

A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

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

Stars:

Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Top Rated Movies #55 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 57 wins & 57 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

memory | short term memory loss | hidden truth | nonlinear timeline | telephone | 

---

Taglines:

Some memories are best forgotten

---

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Nolan wanted Peter Deming to be the film's cinematographer, but he was unavailable, having already signed on to shoot Scream 3 (2000).

---

Goofs

When Natalie shows Leonard the picture of herself with Jimmy, she is smiling (in addition to Jimmy having a mustache). Later, when he gets out of bed and views it again, she is no longer smiling, and Jimmy's mustache is gone. Finally, in the close-up of Leonard writing the note on the back of the Polaroid he took of her, the picture has reverted to its original state. This is probably deliberate to make us feel we have Leonard's condition.

---

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.

---

Alternate Versions

The Region 2 DVD contains the original movie, and the re-edited "Chronological" movie as a hidden extra within the special features menu. This can be found by pressing "enter/select" on your remote, just as the menu is about to loop back to the beginning of the menu.

---

Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Why Do Good Directors Go Bad? (2016)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A trip into the mind

If the director of this independent film tried to make us feel really confused, like the main character, he did it wonderfully. There are only a few movies like this one, the kind of movies that makes you pay attention to every minute of it. Obviously that doesn't work all the time, but this case is the exception. Really well directed with a wonderful photography and excellent cast. The main actors' performances are great. We really root for the guy as we hate the ones who try to take advantage of him.

Original films like this one always stand out. Perhaps it didn't caught much attention at first but now it is in an important position at the IMDb top 250 and that means that most the people recognize great movies when they see them.

As I said before, this movie is a little confusing because it runs backwards while the black and white scenes run in chronological order. But that wasn't a cheap trick to make the movie more "intelectual", it was its strength. A rare film that shouldn't be missed.

Details

Official Sites:

Memento Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Memento

Filming Locations:

Hill Crest Inn, 9111 Sepulveda Blvd, North Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$235,488, 18 March 2001

Gross USA:

$25,544,867

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,970,386

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:

2.39 : 1