Monday Movie Moments: Memento

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. There are great movies, and then there are great scenes. Ideally, the two come as a package deal, but sometimes there’s just a scene that’s memorable all by itself. Each week, I’ll be taking a look at a formative movie moment that may be notable for its style, content, technique, or something else altogether. Minor spoilers will be referenced in this edition of the series, so please stop reading if you’ve somehow avoided seeing the movie in question.

Rarely does the first scene of a film prove such a tone-setting example of the film’s innovative and bleak nature. Watching the opening titles of “Memento” (also profiled in a Monday feature from two years ago) without knowing what’s going on leads to a gradual realization that the events being slowly depicted on screen are happening in reverse. The score is extremely helpful in establishing the mood, and zooming in on one photo as it goes from fully developed to grainier is entirely captivating. Watching the gun fly back up into the hands of Guy Pearce, wearing a stoic and dazed look on his face, seems so mechanical that it’s hard to figure out just what to make of it. Right before it cuts to the black-and-white narration by Pearce’s Lenny is the most intense part, when we hear a frantic shout from Joe Pantoliano’s Teddy the second before the shot kills him. Seeing the picture slowing fade away and Teddy’s fate revealed before he speaks is even more haunting, and it creates the perfect feel for this incredibly complex, interesting, and enthralling thriller, just a taste of the complex assembly of scenes and ideas that is to come.

Monday Movies You Aught to See: Memento

Regardless of whether the decade ended already ended in 2009 or will end at the close of the current year, the 2000s were a wonderful period of cinema with many treasures that deserve to be remembered. Check in at Movies with Abe on Mondays for Movies You Aught to See, a look back at memorable movies from the aughts. They are posted in no particular order, and if you have a great film from the 2000s that you think merits consideration, leave a note in the comments!

Memento
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Released March 16, 2001



Before he gained international fame with the 2008 blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” Chistopher Nolan adapted his brother’s screenplay and directed this excellent thriller about a man who has lost the ability to make new memories and relies on pictures and tattoos to aid him in his never-ending search for the man who killed his wife and caused his injury. This marvelously complex and extraordinarily well-edited film is presented out of order with black-and-white and color segments to splinter Leonard’s memory and allow the viewer to piece together the story. Guy Pearce turns in an exceptional performance as the eccentric Leonard, spouting the catchphrase “now, where was I?” perfectly. The whopper of an ending will leave you thinking about this moving for a long time. Watch the trailer above for a glimpse at how incredible this film is if you haven’t yet seen it.