Memento (2000)

Written by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Running Time: 113 minutes (approx)

Production Year: 2000

Rating: 15 Certificate

Filmed in Colour

"I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning... even if I can't remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there" - Leonard Shelby.

After the low-key success of his debut film Following, Christopher Nolan's next film (2000) came from a short story his brother was writing and, as the story developed, so did the screenplay. The result is one of cinema's most intriguing, tricksy films that makes The Usual Suspects look like a straightforward narrative.

"Facts, not memories. That's how you investigate. I know, it's what I used to do" - Leonard Shelby.

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce, pictured), is an ex-insurance investigator who's vowed to find and kill the man responsible for his wife's murder. However, in the same attack, he was left with a condition that has wiped out his short term memory of all events after the attack. Within just 15 minutes, he has forgotten everything he has been told, knows nothing of the people who know him and cannot remember even the name of the motel he's staying in. To keep his information intact, he relies on notated Polaroids, notes and even tattoos on his body. Around him are bar-waitress Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), whose picture is annotated "She's lost someone too. She will help you out of pity" and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano), for whom Shelby writes, "Do not believe his lies".

"My wife deserves revenge, whether I know about it or not" - Leonard Shelby.

But the film's fascinating premise, which demands total concentration, isn't just Shelby's lack of memory but the way Nolan plays with the time structure of the film; a murder seen in the opening seconds re-winds, bullets re-enter the gun, a Polaroid 'un-develops', and the narrative too runs backwards, with clues revealed after the action they cause has been seen. Absolutely riveting, with Pearce perfect as both the bereft widower and the blank canvas others write on, with an ending that, while supremely logical, demands a second or even third viewing to finally complete cinema's most complex jigsaw.

The last line in the film comes from Leonard Shelby - "Now... where was I?"

Preview courtesy of Channel4