Memento
I FINALLY sat down and watched this movie after it being on my watchlist for over 8 years probably since I’m a big fan of psych thrillers.
To start with the obvious, I really loved the structure of this movie. A lot of films try to be nonlinear just to seem stylish or different, but Memento actually earns it. The backward-moving storyline and the forward-moving one meeting in the middle is such a smart choice, and it genuinely serves the story instead of distracting from it. (Looking at you, Weapons.)
That said… around the middle I did start to feel a little bored with the structure. The scenes kept getting shorter and shorter, and the repetition started to drag. Like okay, I get why we’re here…we don’t necessarily need to run the whole scene again from 7 seconds earlier. It’s clever, but not always gripping compared to some of his later work.
And then, the intercut black-and-white Sammy Jankis storyline didn’t help either. I get the purpose, but the delivery dragged down the momentum and killed some of the suspense for me.
In terms of the twists, although I did immediately clock that Natalie was gonna be bad because that actress just never plays a good person. Ever. But the actual twist of her character still surprised me in how deep it went. The ending worked for me. Even though I knew there had to be a twist (this movie basically lives on every “best plot twists” list), it still managed to feel creative and satisfying. Not Nolan’s most mind-melting twist, but a good one.
Cinematography-wise… it’s not exactly a stunning movie to look at, but that’s not the point, and it’d be unfair to judge it for that. Honestly, it made me want Nolan to do another lower-budget project again. His early stuff proves he’s been doing thoughtful, ambitious storytelling from the start, long before Hollywood turned into a pipeline of remakes, sequels, and CGI soup.
I can totally see why this was such a big deal in 2000. I know some people find it confusing, but if you actually pay attention and follow the visual breadcrumbs, it’s really not that hard to track.
Overall: smart, messy, clever, occasionally repetitive, but absolutely worth watching. Proof that Nolan really has been a master storyteller from the start.