Christian Kim
Mrs. Lodge
APLAC Period 5
12 February 2012
Memento
Memento is truly a film for the generations. “Memento”, an indie mystery starring Guy Pearce as a San Francisco man named Leonard in Los Angeles suffering from anterograde amnesia, or short-term memory loss, is a memorable film which exhibits many characters as to why the film deserves the prestige it has come with. Pearce, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man who killed his wife (IMDB).
Now before I begin, I would like to offer my most complete analysis of this movie without revealing too much of its plotline. As the format of the movie is so unique, it is difficult to offer much of a summary without spoiling too much of the story. With that being said, let us begin.
"Memento" is a diabolical and absorbing experience, in which Pearce doggedly plays a low-rent fugitive who patiently makes maps, jots notes and explains over and over that he has to talk fast because in a few minutes he'll start forgetting the conversation. A motel clerk takes advantage of his condition to charge him for two rooms at the same time and cheerfully admits his fraud, pointing out Leonard will forget it. "Even if you get revenge, you're not going to remember it," he's told at one point, but his reply has a certain logic: "My wife deserves revenge whether or not I remember it." One striking element of the film is a series of flashbacks to a case Leonard investigated when he worked for an insurance company. This involves a man named Sammy, who appears to have memory loss, although he seems otherwise just like good old Sammy. His wife, a diabetic, can't be sure he isn't faking his condition, and arranges a test I will not reveal. This story has relevance to Leonard's own plight, in an indirect way.
If Leonard keeps forgetting what has already happened, we in the audience suffer from the opposite condition. We begin at the end, and work our way back toward the beginning, because the story is told backward. The film begins with a brilliant idea, a Polaroid photograph fades instead of develops and a murder rewinds on-screen. A bloody carnage is reassembled as a gun barrel pulls away from a helpless man. We are at the end of the story, and we are being pulled back to the beginning of one man’s quest to avenge the crimes against his wife. "Memento" is a construction of two stories; one shot in color in the "present" world in which Leonard is surrounded by the people in his life, and the other a timeless black and white documentary-like story of an isolated Leonard anguished by lack of memory and haunted by fear and anxiety. Each scene is played back forward; however, the structure with how the film is presented is extremely convoluted. Frequent flashbacks illuminate, or confuse, the issue as the movie cuts back from essentially two different plotlines, one starting from the very end moving backwards, and the other starting from the very beginning moving forward. Segments are shown making lateral movements between the timeline, until the two stories meet at the central plotline where the ending is replayed and the film finally reveals the final twist. Essentially, Leonard is adrift in time and experience, and therefore so are we.
Immediately, confusion is aroused which gives semblance to Leonard’s deteriorating condition. We are thrust into Leonard’s troubled mind, and in essence, shown how it is like to experience that same condition. Although this film is not the first time a narrative has been told backward, the concept still remains to be fascinating and extremely original in today’s spectrum of films. Much more could be said about he prowess of the cinematography, however the cast is another are where the film shines.
One might view Guy Pearce's performance as dry and emotionless, however that is exactly what he was attempting to emulate. He portrays the fast-paced straight-to-business character of Leonard who wastes no time in attempting to solve his wife’s death. The performance, although certainly won’t bring tears to anyone’s eyes, plays the role perfectly. The charm in the movie is not found in any emotional outbreaks or outpourings, but rather in the complexities of the plotline. Guy Pearce plays the role spectacularly and with an eerie sense of realism.
An excellent film shows three different criteria. The film must have a solid cast with great acting, great cinematography, and a great plotline. Memento excels in all of these categories which is why this film truly deserves the prestige that it has come with.
I do recommend watching this film at least twice before critiquing it however. The intricacies of the plot really show through after understanding the complete plotline. Although the enjoyment factor is lost the second time around, watching Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece unfold and noticing the excellent attention to detail makes it a truly satisfying experience. One can see how well-executed the film is and the superb level of cinematography at play. The film is clearly made to confuse an audience and to leave them with a feeling of unease until the final moments where the big reveal is made and the audience can together enjoy the extremely satisfying and unprecedented ending.
I can with no doubt say that this film is one of the best films I have ever seen. The masterful execution by Christopher Nolan is no small feat, especially for its small $5 million budget and three week filming time. And certainly, I am not alone in this evaluation. Rotten Tomatoes has the aggregate profession critic rating at an astounding 92% and, often the more trusted meter, the audience rating is at an amazing 93%. Metacritic has the audience rating at 9.1 out of 10. These ratings are based on numerous different audience members ranging from serious movie buffs to the average moviegoers which shows the enjoyment found within all levels of film watchers. I wholeheartedly recommend this film for any person and see no fault as to declare this to be an excellent movie.
Works Cited
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/memento
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/memento/
Jackie Chan, you did a nice job in providing background and analysis in your review. The criteria for a successful movie is made clear, but next time I might make the criteria more genre specific. Also, you did a good job analyzing the criteria. You went in depth when analyzing the cast and the plot, but I might add more analysis to the cinematography part. Also, you state your criteria near the end of your review, instead I would move it somewhere in the beginning, but otherwise your evaluation is structured well. I also feel the second paragraph is not necessary, but otherwise your review was good. The last thing I would suggest is maybe addressing which type of audience would prefer the move. It would also be a good idea to edit your work.
ReplyDeleteChristian, overall i found your review to be well done. However, I would advise several changes. First, in order to project ethos I would cite all of your quotes. Furthermore, in order to quality your logos such as the percents I would address the error in these polls.In order to better qualify and address your criteria I would explain the significance of your criteria especially in relation to other "good" or "classic" movies. As a unit (your colorful diction in particular), your review prose a effective argument and seems to persuade the audience to watch/agree that Memento is a good movie.
ReplyDeleteChristian,your review of Momento was extremely well done from start to finish. Using the ethos of your sources, the emotion appeal of your audience from pathos, and the logos of a well organized and well structured paper to persuade your view of the movie. The only problem that i found with your review would be your accidental use of the logical fallacy "Begging the Question". Within your sixth paragraph your present the fact that Guy Pearce's performance was "dry and emotionless," yet when dealing with an audience that may have never seen this movie before you are presenting a claim that may even come as far a turning your readers off to the movie entirely, for who would ever want to see a "emotionless" performance. My only recomendation would be to replace this paragraph with a more positive aspect of the movie that would appeal to readers that have both seen and not seen the movie. Despite this slight problem, your review is very intriguing, and did in fact make me want to watch the movie. Well done.
ReplyDeleteChristian, your review of Momento was very detailed and accurately reflected the film. The only real suggestion I would have would be to state the criteria for a good movie, especially one in the psychological thriller genre such as this, somewhere in the introduction so that the reader can follow your argument more effectively. I found your analysis of Leonard's personality spot-on, and a very good response to the rebuttal. Overall, this review was very effective and I applaud you on your work.
ReplyDelete