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MEMENTO Send This Review to a Friend
Favorable word-of-mouth has been building around what could become a cult film, but in this corner "Memento" is mostly smart-alecky form and little substance. Writer-director Christopher Nolan's gimmicky affair is about memory loss compounded by murder as the protagonist Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator, attempts to put the pieces together, find who raped and killed his wife and wreak revenge.
The problem is that he can't remember anything since the gruesome event, nor can he recall anything that happened 15 minutes ago. He is piecing together his life with the aid of photographs and tattooing bits of information on his body, all the while involved in a film-long chase after the truth. The story, set in Southern California, spins back and forth in time, with repeat images and efforts at cleverness.
The trouble with what I'd call frenzied noir is that the protagonist, played adequately enough by Guy Pearce, is not particularly interesting, and neither are the assorted characters we meet as Leonard goes through the maze. As for the repeat images with which we are peppered, by the film's conclusion, I felt as if I had watched it a dozen times.
But this is one of those ventures that some people are finding exciting, challenging and sophisticated. You may want to check it out for yourself despite my lack of enthusiasm. A Newmarket Group release.
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