For close to five years, audiences have been swept away by the gimmick of a surprise/shocking ending. Though it has been a staple of cinema since the phrase film noir was first coined, people have only recently enjoyed getting their fix from such films. The Usual Suspects, Seven, Primal Fear, Twelve Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, and most recently, Unbreakable, are touted as modern classics in this canon and have set the trend. Memento, however, "ups the ante" by providing the boldest example of nonlinear storytelling since perhaps Pulp Fiction. Memento offers thought-provoking, innovative structure and narrative design along with breathtaking execution to provide a genuine new thrill.
Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) has a problem. Due to a recently inflicted injury, he can't make new memories. With no short-term memory available, he can't remember anything for more than fifteen minutes before it disappears. With a condition that could leave anyone unfocused and crippled, Leonard develops a system in which he constantly takes pictures of people and places accompanied by notes to develop a sense of self. When he is sure of something, he'll tattoo it to his body. But the driving force behind Leonard's effort to retain a semblance of normalcy is the fact that he's out to solve a crime. No noir-ish tale could be without hidden agendas, duplicitous women, and corrupt officers of the law. While battling his own demons, Leonard can never tell if he has been manipulated with a wrong lead or if he has misinterpreted his own facts.
The novelty behind the already-enticing plot of Memento is that the film is shown backwards. Similar to a Seinfeld episode from a few years back, each scene plays from beginning to end, though each following scene takes place before its predecessor. Chris Nolan, in his writing/directing debut, has crafted a thriller that challenges the concept of a memory in that he presents perceptions of events rather than facts in and of themselves. Each scene offers a meticulous intensity that would normally seem nonexistent, considering that we are watching the end of the movie in the first five minutes. The same tricks in the bag are used, but instead of the conclusion unraveling the threads of the story, it leaves more questions unanswered. On a related note, there is quite a lot of humor mined from the concepts existing in scenes, which would not normally be considered comedic material. Guy Pearce provides a portrait of a man with a fractured personality, with credible eccentricity, while Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano (both of Matrix fame) provide solid supporting roles.
Memento has provided the best example of film noir since LA Confidential, while breaking preconceived notions of what story structure can be. It is a benchmark of creativity and a gem of a film.