Memento

Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2000

"Memento" is a Chris Nolan's second stab at a character drama dealing with a compulsive, overly-obsessive protagonist. The film follows the main character as he tries to piece together the mystery of his wife's murder. Nothing new here...wrong. This film throws in the interesting plot device of the main protagonist having short term memory loss. Through editing and backwards storytelling, Nolan attempts to put the audience in the uncomfortable position of our hero while also giving a small message.

All the while the character tries to piece together his past with the help of the people around him, they're plotting to take advantage of him. Every homemade tattoo he puts on his body, he soon forgets the true meaning of. "Memento" drives home the theme of how unimportant, permanent things are by using the tattoos as tools that further the protagonist's confusion. Throughout the film, the hero talks to a person on the phone about a client of his from the past. Half way through, we're giving clues that let us know that he might exactly be the man he's talking about.

Everything about this film turns us on our heads. We're provided only the details we're supposed to have, just like the protagonist, but what we think we know is later prove to not be true. The main thing I got from this film was how unimportant memory can actually become if we don't have control of it. This man is possibly a mass killer only because he can't remember. The world of "Memento" is depicted as one where no one can be trusted and love can sometimes drive us to do unspeakable things.