Memento, a fabulous film! (Memento (DVD))

Member Name: stephbond89

Product:	Memento (DVD)
Date:	05/08/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great film, amazing acting!

Disadvantages: Not a one!

I bought this DVD for my husband for Christmas, just as a little stocking filler. I had heard about the film, but never watched it, and last night was actually the first time since Christmas we'd had the time to sit down and watch it!

The film is about Leonard Shelby, a middle aged man whose wife has been raped and murdered, leaving Leonard with a memory condition which means he cannot hold short term memories, and anything that has happened after his wifes murder, he cannot recall.

Leonard takes polaroid pictures and and makes notes about everything and everybody who he meets, so that he can look back at these and know what to think of the people! He tatoos notes to his body to remind him of facts, facts about his wifes killer.

The film is very weird in that it works backwards, it starts at the end of the story and works its way back through time until we're at the begining of the story! At the beginning of the film we see Leonard shoot a man in the back of the head and take a photo with a tear running down his cheek. We don't know who the man is, we don't know why he is dead, but all is to be revealed!

Leonard tells a story of a man named Sammy who had a condition like his own, he got it after a traffic accident, but the insurance company wouldn't pay out as it was a "mental" illness and not physical, and they didn't cover mentalities. So his wife tested him, she was diabetic, and wanted to test him, if he remembered she knew it was fake, if he didn't remember, she has made the ultimate sacrifice. One day when she was having her insulin injection, her husband Sammy gave it her, she then set her clock back, and told him it was time for her injection, she did this 3 times, he never remembered giving it just 15 minutes earlier, and kept giving her the injections, sending her into a coma which she never woke from...Leonard tells this to everyone as he was the one dealing with the insurance case, and he remembers him as its what makes him tattoo notes to his body.

Memento is a film about revenge and suffering. The way the film is set out is magnificent and makes the film stand out among other thriller films, although the storyline to be honest isn't anything really all that different, the way the conventions have been completely reversed in this film make the film completely different!

You'd think the film by going backwards would 1) be confusing, and 2) be very boring as you'd know the ending right from the beginning. But for the first pointer, the film is a little bit confusing at first, until you know what is going on. It goes from present time, to back, then back to the present then back again, then back to the present again for the first 15 minutes or so until the film gets into the storyline, but you get what is going on within a couple of minutes, and you can distinguish between time frames quite easily. As this part of the storyline is pretty simple, it introduces you to the storyline very well, making it nice and easy and as little confusing as possible! The second point, the film is not in the slightest bit predictable, although the film begins with the ending, you are shown how the characters go to this ending, and there are a good few twists and turns.

The film goes through trust and friendship, and the heartbreak of the memory loss of the protagonist in Memento, we feel very sorry for him when the story becomes clear, and the fact he has no idea what is going on makes this even more true.

If you like thrillers, this film is a definite must see, there are no other films like it as far as I am concerned, as it's so different in the way its made. I would definitely give it a go! :)

Summary: A must see thriller!