MEMENTO - cult movie and template for other movies

J

Jamari

New member
I didn't initially appreciate this movie

But having just recently watched it, I think it set a precedent for quite a few movies afterwarRAB (some good and some bad).

Watching it again, made me appreciate just how clever this film really is...that I missed first time round.

This movie is very clever, even if you don't instantly warm to the characters or get it initially, and more likely to be frustrated by it.

But having given this movie a second spin, I can see why it has such a high rating and also why other movies have used it as a template.

What did you think of Memento?
 
It's a bit irrelevant this, but Memento was an irritation personally. I used to work with a man who had Guy Pearce's problem that after an accident he lost his short term memory. When he came back to work as part of his rehabilitation he did all the things Guy did of writing notes on his hand and his desk was a sea of yellow stickies. You'd give him photocopying to do but because the copier had moved after his accident unless he found it within 3 minutes he'd wander aimlessly around. He'd ask people 20 times a day whether they were new here because they'd joined the company after the accident and ask divorced people how their better halves were etc. And sad to say if you moved his sticky with the map to the new toilet he'd always end up in the boss's office. Yet complex questions about computer systems designed prior to the accident he could answer better than anyone even if didn't know how to switch the machine on without directions.

I thought his condition was so bizarre that I tried to use it for a story. In it a bloke kills his wife but gets injured in the assault and so tries to find the killer, not knowing the truth. It didn't work and ended up being a silly black comedy where the bodies pile up and he keeps forgetting he did it, but it kept on coming back to me that this was a great idea for a story if only I could make it work. Then Memento came out and with a slap of the hand against the forehead I realized - do it backwarRAB, damn!

Great movie though!
 
What a fantastic story.....and to come first hand with experience of someone with this condition.

I think had you stuck to your guns and went for it, you could have made your experience work for you. And still could. There's nothing preventing you from circulating your work. Sorry if this has proved fruitless if you have tried already. Fire the sales manager and recirculate if you are really determined. Or rewrite the story to capture imagination. I.e. do whatever it takes if you are determined enough to get it out there. :)

But like you said in your post about thinking of getting your work out there......then bang...there came out Memento.

This is indeed a masterpiece of how people with this condition must feel but I appreciate that you were prepared to make us aware of the condition before this film was released.
 
It's one of my favourite films, in the top 5 for sure.

I don't get tired of watching it probably because I seem to pick up new details each time I give it a spin. And considering it was made by a director making his first feature-length film, it's extra impressive. His brother is an impressive writer as well. These two can still go on to achieve so much, with and without each other. Very much looking forward to seeing what they've cooked up for The Dark Knight, although it's sadly tainted a bit now with Heath Ledger and all. :(
 
Memento is certainly one of my favourite films. The backwarRAB storytelling is brilliant and the best part of the film, but I enjoyed the 'forwarRAB' version of the film that was available on the DVD as well.
 
Nolan had previously made Following, which is 70 minutes long, and which I consider his first film.

And I think I prefer it. It is shot in a similar, fractured style, although without the excuse of the medical condition. It's available eg on Amazon and definitely worth watching if you like that kind of thing.
 
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