Memento (2000)

Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Guy Pearce, Joe Pantoliano, and Carrie-Ann Moss, Memento is a mind-bending mystery thriller that brings the concept of an “unreliable narrator” to new heights.

Leonard Shelby is hunting down John G., the man who attacked him and killed his wife – the only thing he knows for certain is true. The only problem standing in Leonard’s way: he forgets everything every 15 minutes, due to a brain injury sustained during the attack. In an attempt to keep track of all the developments on his mission, Leonard develops a convoluted system of self-administered tattoos and cryptic notes scrawled on Polaroids taken of important people and places in his life. However, because of his condition, who he can trust and who he cannot remain a daunting enigma until the very end.

Memento is told through the most clever narrative structure ever devised in a film: it alternates between backtracking from the end and continuing forward from the beginning until reaching a striking climax that occurs chronologically in the middle of the film – allowing all the pieces of the puzzle to fall satisfyingly in place. Through this nonlinear storytelling, Nolan suspends the audience in a confused stupor – not unlike what Leonard himself suffers. Despite being one of Nolan’s first directorial efforts and produced with a significantly lower budget than the films he is best known for, Nolan’s auteurism, sheer intelligence in filmmaking, and obsession with themes like perception, time, and memory are on full display. It’s fascinating to watch Nolan’s genius at work early on with such limited materials, putting together an incredible creation nonetheless. Memento is a film for the ages and a must-see masterclass in editing and storytelling.