Memento still holds up since I first saw it three times in the theatre during its premiere year of 2000. Nolan’s timescape toying was and still is brilliant, despite its potential to be exploited in the future. The key is: Leonard (Guy Pearce’s best role) conjures and earns our empathy throughout his (and our) backward journey, and when characters develop before or during the gimmick, they defy the gimmick.
Lenny’s anterograde amnesia, Pantoliano and Moss’s suspected manipulation, the “John G.” MacGuffin, and the Sammy Jankis construct flow with a perplexing seamlessness. The fact that auteur Nolan adds dabs of humor to the narrative makes it all the more enjoyable.
Throughout all of my viewings of Memento, my opinion of Lenny and what happened fluctuated between murderer and victim, and I refused to step out of the ambiguity.
Today, I come to realize that Leonard is the architect of his (and our) new reality to cover the tracks, the guilt, and, well, the memory.
One of the most influential and groundbreaking movies of the late twentieth century.
“Okay, so what am I doing? Oh, I’m chasing this guy. No, he’s chasing me.”
Reely Bernie 
Bernie, Mrs. B loves this film, so much so we actually watched it again a couple of weeks ago. On my rewatch, I “got it” more than the first time I saw it (when it first came out), and really enjoyed it more than my original view of it. Nolan really is an amazing filmmaker.
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Of course I’m happy for you both. I don’t think I’ll ever revisit it again. Mainly a frustrating experience for me. Gimme Memento or Interstellar first 🙂
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Nolan will always be a brilliant filmmaker. I just think he gets in his own way sometimes.
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This is my favourite from him,. But I still can’t think of a more overrated director.
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Agreed. Then, Interstellar. Then, everything is bloated. My bar is low for The Odyssey, and I’ll need to keep the liquids low for the 3 hours.
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I dislike his characterisation or lack there of in his movies. They generally lack spirit / charm in some way. I did like the second Batman mainy because of Heath Ledger’s performance
‘Origen’ could have been a masterpiece if he cut out the excess action (1 hour too much for mine – bloated totally, man!) and tightened up the story.
I had to chuckle about the liquids. I would hazard a guess, that I will be having minimum one toilet break. Hey, don’t tell anyone. Those Pepsi free’s are big man! If the movie’s a real clunker, maybe I’ll find myself on that potty a good while.
Cheers friend.
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I’d love to know what you thought of The Odyssey. We didn’t end up seeing it and if you did end up going, I’d like to know if you think it’s worth our while seeing it next week.
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One of the best. Watched it many times and hopefully many more. It’s never the same.
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This last go around (probably my eighth viewing), I appreciated Pantoliano’s nuanced performance. He’s really good: part sleezy and untrustworthy, part likeable in a pathetic way.
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