Memento Film Techniques

Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, is an action-packed, psychological thriller guaranteed to leave the viewer thinking long after the film ends. Released in 2001, the movie stars many famous actors, including: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Stephen Tobolowsky. Considered "one of the best movies of the 2000's," Memento is a complicated, head-spinning adventure of revenge, heartbreak, and manipulation. In this movie review, I will analyze the thematic significance regarding Nolan's choice of filming techniques, music, and symbols.

The plot develops around two separate, yet parallel stories of Leonard (Guy Pearce), an ex-insurance investigator who suffers from anterograde amnesia, resulting in the inability to make new memories after the brutal death of his wife. The complicated sequence of events tells the story of Leonard's quest to avenge the murder of his wife. One story, in color, is the story of Leonard's adventure in reverse order. The other story, appearing in black and white excerpts, reveals the story of Sammy Jenkins (Stephen Tobolowsky), which is Leonard's story to mask his devastating situation to others. The movie follows Leonard along his violent adventure, switching back and forth between parallel stories, while showing the manipulation arising by those who take advantage of Leonard's distressing condition.
The filming technique of Memento, having a story inside another story, is a smart technique used to represent Leonards inability to create memories.
The scenes in color, representing the regressing plot, are in short segments because that is as long as Leonard can remember before his memory slate is wiped blank again. This method of filming gives the reader a sense of empathy for anyone suffering from a memory problem, and I believe is an effective method for creating emotions within the viewer. Christopher Nolan closely depicted Leonard's jumbled mind by changing the colors and order of the
scenes.

The soundtrack of the movie helps create a sense of empathy and sorrow for Leonard's distressing situation. Specifically, "Remember Me," which plays as Leonard burns the pictures of his wife, gives the viewer a sense of Leonard's extreme heartache and confusion for losing and his wife and not being able to remember anything past her death. Many of the songs on the soundtrack, such as "Remember Me," have a sorrowful, dark melody which contribute to the theme of manipulation and suspenseful mood throughout the film.

Lastly, many significant objects are repeated throughout the film containing highly symbolic relevance, two significant ones being tattos and polaroid pictures. For instance, Leonard gets any important events or facts tattooed on himself, in order to keep track of his progression along his mission. Also, he takes pictures of any important people or places in order to keep track of those around him and his locations along the way. As a viewer, you see Leonard constantly look through his pictures whenever someone talks to him, which is just another highly effective method Nolan uses to help the reader understand the immense confusion and uncertainty Leonard feel in every situation he encounters.

In my opinion, Memento is well worth watching multiple times to fully understand the film. As a viewer, you get to understand how hard life would be suffering from a memory condition, and also, the devastating manipulation that arises from someone less advantaged. This film is guaranteed to keep you on your toes and your mind racing, which for any film lover, makes for a brilliant movie.