Sunday, April 18, 2010

An Intro To The Film "Memento"

By Marva Elliott

Chances are, if you're taking a look into an article like this one, than you are trying to get a better glimpse into the very critically acclaimed and instant classic, "Memento". Sure, there is a good bit to know and to understand about this film, most of which will likely be discussed within this article and the content of its paragraphs.

I suppose that the best way for you to learn anything at all about this film, would be to really take a brief overview of the plot synopsis so that you can best understand the sequence of events that allow this film's climactic points to even be possible. The only trouble with just reading or writing a plot synopsis for this film, is that it follows no feasible chronological order, and therefore it becomes difficult to describe the events of the film.

So for the sake of this article and the explanation of the film itself, you will simply have to excuse the film being described in chronological order, when in all actuality these events are rather spread out through the film in various orders. The reason for this is the very nature of the film, and without it being so sporadic, the film might not have been as good.

There is a very good reason for this sporadic nature to the film, and it is because of the main character in the piece: Leonard Shelby. This man attempted years ago to stop two men from raping and killing his wife. He stopped one by killing him, and the other clubbed him across the head, giving him a condition known as anterograde amnesia, which does not allow him to make new memories.

He is rather taken advantage of in his condition, as several people have allowed him to do their dirty work, giving him ammunition in saying that they had something to do with the killing of his wife. Important information that he collects that is relative to the case is tattooed onto his body, so that he does not forget them.

He receives a phone call from what he believes to be a police officer named John, though he prefers to go by Teddy. He claims that he can take Leonard to the second killer, a drug dealing punk named Jimmy, so that he can exact his revenge. What the audience learns later, is that Jimmy had nothing to do with Lenny's wife. And Teddy feeds Lenny a story about having already found the other killer a year ago.

You meet several people throughout the story, and they all play an intricate role into the very complicated nature of this plot. In the last sections of the film, you deduce along with Leonard who the second killer is, and you accompany him to exact his revenge. Though the film was written very well, you might care to take note of the incredible performances from Guy Pearce (Leonard) and Joe Pantaliano (Teddy).

If you aren't careful, "Memento" could lose you to its sporadic jumping back and forth in how the story progresses. But if you are paying attention, you are likely to see one of the best films to have been released in all of 2000, and likely one of the best of the whole '00s.

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