Memento

One of my most beloved movies. The main pros have been listed here hundreds of times, but what I definitely have to mention is one of the best movie resolutions of all time. The fact that many or perhaps most misunderstood it, in my opinion, is based on the fact that Leonard's final/initial decision is completely outside the mindset of the standard American hero and thus hard to digest. Guy Pearce also proves an excellent choice, his resignedly confused expressions certainly matching the film's overall deliberate bewilderment. The absence of an Oscar for the screenplay should be a crime. I guess the Academy didn't get the film either. (07/19/2010)

Memento has just a few blemishes on its beauty; bland music, two logic hiccups and one or two other problems. But they are just tiny little spots and the in essence simple screenplay is genius storytelling. I wouldn’t compare it to the Czech movie Happy End; Memento doesn’t go backwards, it’s just the individual chapters that go backwards here. Nolan proved that, even with minimum resources, it’s possible to shoot a thriller of genius if you have good screenplay combined with inventive directing. (04/10/2005)

This amazingly original thriller was a truly unique experience. I don’t remember ever exercising my brain so much. It’s one of those few films that can never put anyone to sleep, and although it made me pretty tired, I couldn’t go to sleep after it, it makes you think even after it has finished. And I can’t avoid watching it again. Magnificent. (07/29/2008)

Brilliant! Without doubt, this is the only film that would make more sense than the usual if you watched it from the end to the beginning. But then it would be a only boring and routine crime drama instead of a perfect example of smart filmmaking with an excellent script and a totally unpredictable ending (well, beginning). Guy Pearce, a total unknown to me, shines and Christopher Nolan gets more bonus points – and a lot of them! (10/20/2011)

What a weird film. The story is actually told backwards, so I got to know how everything was going to end right in the beginning, and yet I was entertained all along as it was gradually revealed to me why all those things happened. The filmmakers managed to create a somewhat paranoid atmosphere and bring suspense and the effect of deja-vu to an already resolved story. I even had a decent laugh in the moments before the main character realized what was going on. (03/02/2018)