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Memento (2000)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
11 October 2000 (France)
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Tagline:
Some memories are best forgotten
Plot:
A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 42 wins
&
32 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(142 articles)
James McTeigue Interview, Ninja Assassin
(From MoviesOnline. 26 November 2009, 8:00 PM, PST)
Guy Pearce Jumps Like a Hungry Rabbit
(From Reel Loop. 26 November 2009, 5:46 AM, PST)
(From MoviesOnline. 26 November 2009, 8:00 PM, PST)
Guy Pearce Jumps Like a Hungry Rabbit
(From Reel Loop. 26 November 2009, 5:46 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Confusion, uncertainty, and paranoia as an art form: possibly.
more (1820 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Guy Pearce | ... | Leonard |
 | Carrie-Anne Moss | ... | Natalie |
 | Joe Pantoliano | ... | Teddy Gammell |
 | Mark Boone Junior | ... | Burt |
 | Russ Fega | ... | Waiter |
 | Jorja Fox | ... | Leonard's Wife |
 | Stephen Tobolowsky | ... | Sammy |
| Harriet Sansom Harris | ... | Mrs. Jankis |
 | Thomas Lennon | ... | Doctor |
 | Callum Keith Rennie | ... | Dodd |
 | Kimberly Campbell | ... | Blonde |
 | Marianne Muellerleile | ... | Tattooist |
 | Larry Holden | ... | Jimmy |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for violence, language and some drug content.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
113 min | Turkey:107 min (TV version)
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
USA:R (certificate #37211) |
Iceland:14 |
Portugal:M/12 |
Netherlands:16 |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:MA |
Brazil:16 |
Canada:14A |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-15 |
France:U |
Germany:16 |
Hong Kong:IIB |
Ireland:15 (re-rating) |
Ireland:18 (original rating) |
Japan:PG-12 |
Mexico:B |
New Zealand:R16 |
Norway:15 |
Singapore:PG (censored version) |
South Korea:15 |
Spain:13 |
Sweden:15 |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) |
UK:15 |
Singapore:NC-16
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Christopher Nolan's white Honda Civic can be seen parked next to Leonard Shelby's Jaguar at the motel.
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Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Natalie's handwriting on the coaster Lenny finds in his pocket changes.
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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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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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Movie Connections:
Spoofed in My Big Fat Independent Movie (2005)
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Soundtrack:
Motherlode
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FAQ
How does Leonard know he has a condition?Who is "John G"? Where did the name "John G" come from?
Is the condition in the movie real?
more
more (1820 total)
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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.