Time travelling with Leonard (Memento (DVD))

Member Name: rappinhood

Product:	Memento (DVD)
Date:	03/08/05 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absorbing thriller; lead actor totally believable

Disadvantages: Slow start, but nothing major

Imagine not being able to remember what happened 15 minutes ago, while at the same time being able to conjure up memories from years ago.

That's the concept behind Memento, a film starring Guy Pearce as Leonard, a man whose last lasting memory is of the night his wife died before his eyes. The traumatic head injury he suffered at that moment has induced a rare form of memory impairment. Leonard can't store new memories, which makes life very difficult indeed.

In order to keep track of events, Leonard uses written notes, annotated Polaroids and other unusual methods which I'll leave you to discover. This is one of the interesting aspects of the film.

In spite of this Leonard tries to find and kill the man who raped and murdered his wife. His companions on this quest are policeman Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and waitress Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). In the shadows lurk a couple of other villains - Jimmy Grantz (Larry Holden) the drug dealer and Dodd (Callum Keith Rennie) a user and hard man and one of Natalie's boyfriends.

There are two parallel stories. The first, shot in colour, follows Leonard backwards from the moment he shoots a man at the start of the film. The second, in black and white, is in real time. In this story, Leonard is talking to someone on the phone about his previous life as a claims adjuster. (It is relevant, I promise). Eventually the two time frames converge.

As the film progresses it becomes clear that each of the other characters has his or her own agenda and that Leonard's illness makes him vulnerable to being used.

I found the two strands hard to keep track of. What I thought I knew half an hour into the film was later revealed to be not so at all. However, the unravelling of the mystery was intriguing.

There are moments of humour and sadness and the film, though puzzling, is extremely watchable. Look out for:
• when the hotel manager explains why Leonard's in a different room
• when Natalie comes in claiming that her boyfriend beat her up
• when Leonard goes into someone's room to wait, forgets why he's there and takes a shower.
I could say more, but I don't want to spoil it.

Although I was initially sceptical about the concept, it didn't take long for me to get hooked. Guy Pearce is outstanding and totally believable (if sometimes chilling) as the memory-impaired Leonard. The other characters are equally good in their roles.

The film starts quite slowly, and I was on the verge of picking up my book when it suddenly improved. If you can get past the first 15 minutes you may find, as I did, that you're completely absorbed by this off-beat tale.

Summary: This is a thriller with a difference; a good evening's viewing