Memento

This movie was incredible. There are many aspects of it I could discuss in this review, however I'm sure many other reviews will cover them. So, instead, I will note the fascinating similarities to the movie Shutter Island(spoiler alert for Shutter Island too). Both characters are unreliable narrators with short-term memory loss. Both characters forget they killed their wives. Both characters are stuck in a memory loop, which propels them into repeating investigations. The stark contrast between the two characters, lies here: at the end of Shutter Island, upon remembering the truth, Andrew elects to end the vicious loop noting "Which would be worse—to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?". Andrew decides to die as a good man. Meanwhile, in Memento, Leonard chooses to continue the monstrous cycle, to continue killing and killing and killing to fulfill his desire for purpose and to keep himself happy. In my personal opinion: It is better to take the honorable way out, like Andrew, and die as a good man.