Memento
Directed by	Christopher Nolan
Produced by	Jennifer Todd Suzanne Todd
Written by	Jonathan Nolan (story) Christopher Nolan
Starring	Guy Pearce Carrie-Anne Moss Joe Pantoliano
Music by	David Julyan
Cinematography	Wally Pfister
Editing by	Dody Dorn
Distributed by	Summit Entertainment
Release date(s)	December 15th 2000 (limited)
Running time	113 min. Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born July 30 1970 is a Film director, writer and producer. Jonathan "Jonah" Nolan (born 1976 is an Academy Award -nominated Author who was born in London and raised in the Chicago area Guy Edward Pearce (born October 5, 1967) is a Screen Actors Guild Award -nominated English -born Australian raised actor perhaps Carrie-Anne Moss (born 21 August 1967 is a Screen Actors Guild Award -nominated Canadian actress known for her roles in Memento, Joseph Peter "Joe" Pantoliano (born September 12 1951) is an American film and television actor David Julyan is an English musician and film score composer He composed the scores to several Christopher Nolan films including Memento, Insomnia Wally Pfister, ASC is an American Cinematographer who is best known for his work on the films Batman Begins, The Prestige Dody Dorn born 20 April 1955 (sometimes credited as Dody J Dorn is an Academy Award nominated American Film and sound editor best Events in December Union Day of Romania (1 December World AIDS Day ( December 1) National Day of 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$4,500,000
Gross revenue	United States: $25,544,867 Worldwide: $39,665,950
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Memento is a neo-noir–psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from his brother Jonathan's short story "Memento Mori. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Neo-noir (from the Greek Neo, new and the French noir black is a type of Motion picture that prominently utilizes elements of Film Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born July 30 1970 is a Film director, writer and producer. Jonathan "Jonah" Nolan (born 1976 is an Academy Award -nominated Author who was born in London and raised in the Chicago area " Memento Mori " is a short story written by Jonathan Nolan. " It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a former insurance fraud investigator searching for the man he believes raped and killed his wife during a burglary. Guy Edward Pearce (born October 5, 1967) is a Screen Actors Guild Award -nominated English -born Australian raised actor perhaps Leonard suffers from anterograde amnesia, which he contracted from severe head trauma during the attack on his wife. Anterograde amnesia is a loss of Memory of what happens after the event that caused the Amnesia; it is different from Retrograde amnesia, where memories This renders his brain unable to store new memories. To cope with his condition, he maintains a system of notes, photographs, and tattoos to record information about himself and others, including his wife's killer. He is aided in his investigation by Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), neither of whom he can trust. Joseph Peter "Joe" Pantoliano (born September 12 1951) is an American film and television actor Carrie-Anne Moss (born 21 August 1967 is a Screen Actors Guild Award -nominated Canadian actress known for her roles in Memento,

The film's events unfold in two separate, alternating narratives—one in color, and the other in black and white. This article discusses the evolution and technology behind color Photographic film, with specific focus on Motion pictures. Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts. Leonard's investigation is depicted in five-minute color sequences that are in reverse chronological order. Reverse chronology is a method of story-telling whereby the plot is revealed in reverse order As each scene begins, Leonard has just lost his recent memories, leaving him unaware of where he is or what he was doing. The scene ends just after its events fade from his memory. By reversing the order, the spectator is unaware of the preceding events, just like Leonard. The black and white sections are told in chronological order, showing Leonard conversing with an anonymous phone caller in a motel room. By the film's end, the two narratives converge into a single color sequence.

Memento premiered on September 5, 2000 at the Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim and received a similar response when it was released in theaters on March 16, 2001. Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest Film festival in the world Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Critics especially praised its unique, nonlinear narrative structure and themes of memory, perception, grief, and revenge. Narrative structure is generally described as the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a Narrative is presented to a reader listener or viewer In the visual arts a theme is a broad idea or a message conveyed by work done in a visual experience such as a performance a painting or a motion picture In Psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store retain and subsequently retrieve information In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss it also has physical cognitive behavioral social and philosophical Revenge (also vengeance, retribution, or vendetta amongst others consists primarily of retaliation against a person or group in response The film was successful at the box office and received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Original Screenplay and Editing. A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for Admission to a venue "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934

Plot

Note: Because of the film's mixture of reverse and regular chronology, the story is explained here in its actual chronological order, rather than how it occurs in the film.

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) wakes up in an anonymous motel room, oblivious as to why he is in the room. He begins to have a phone conversation with an unknown caller, in which he relates the story of Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky). Sammy suffered from anterograde amnesia, which prevented him from forming new memories. Anterograde amnesia is a loss of Memory of what happens after the event that caused the Amnesia; it is different from Retrograde amnesia, where memories Leonard was an insurance fraud investigator assigned to determine if Sammy's condition was a physical injury that would be covered under his insurance policy. After several tests, Leonard concluded that Sammy's condition was psychological, and the insurance claim was denied. Sammy's wife asks Leonard if he believes that Sammy is faking his short-term memory loss, but Leonard simply says that he believes Sammy is physically capable of creating new memories and it is psychological. Sammy's wife, a diabetic, tried to confirm her belief that Sammy could make new memories and tricked him into repeatedly giving her an injection of insulin. Insulin is a Hormone with intensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems (eg vascular compliance His wife went into a coma after he unknowingly administered an overdose, and Sammy was confined to a mental institution, incapable of remembering her death.

Leonard with a Polaroid photograph

Leonard tells the caller how his own wife died. Types of Polaroid instant cameras See also List of Polaroid instant cameras Polaroid cameras can be classified by the type of film they use During one night, two men broke into his home and raped and murdered his wife. Leonard shot one intruder but was attacked from behind by a second man. He developed anterograde amnesia as a result of the injuries to his head, and because of this condition he cannot remember anything after his accident for more than several minutes. Leonard is determined to locate and kill the second intruder to avenge his wife's death. He develops a system to compensate for his complete short-term memory loss which involves taking instant pictures with a Polaroid 690 camera, writing notes to himself, and tattooing important facts on his body. One of the few clues to the second intruder's identity is a tattoo saying the killer's name is "John or James G. " Teddy, the mysterious caller, tells Leonard that the murderer is a drug dealer, and that he can be found at an abandoned building outside of town. Leonard goes to the building and kills a man named Jimmy Grantz. He then puts on Jimmy's clothes.

A few minutes later, Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) arrives at the abandoned building, and Leonard discovers he has been tricked. Jimmy Grantz was a local drug dealer and was not involved in his wife's murder. Teddy reveals that Leonard's wife survived the robbers' attack, but she died from an insulin overdose administered by Leonard. According to Teddy, Sammy Jankis was a fraud who was not even married. Teddy claims to be a police officer who took pity on Leonard and helped him track down and kill the real John G. more than a year before. But Leonard forgot that he had had his revenge and began searching for John G. again. Teddy admits manipulating Leonard to kill Jimmy for the $200,000 in the drug dealer's car. Jimmy brought the money to buy drugs that Teddy falsely claimed to have.

Leonard in his motel room

Before he can forget these revelations, Leonard consciously decides to continue the quest and set Teddy (who Leonard does not believe is guilty of the attack on him and his wife) as his next victim. He records Teddy's license plate number as John G. 's, leaving himself a note reminding him to have this information tattooed. Leonard takes Jimmy's car, leaves Teddy at the abandoned shack, and drives until he finds a tattoo parlor. At the parlor, Leonard finds a note in his pocket from Jimmy's girlfriend, Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). Having forgotten that he is wearing Jimmy's clothes, he thinks the note is for him. He goes to the bar where Natalie works and, after meeting her, tells her about his condition. Natalie offers to help Leonard, but she later tricks him into threatening a man named Dodd (Callum Keith Rennie), who she says has been harassing Natalie for the money from Jimmy's drug deals. Although he is nearly killed, Leonard forces Dodd to leave town.

When Natalie learns Dodd is gone, she traces John G. 's license plate number from Leonard's tattoo. She gives him a copy of the man's driver's license, and Leonard matches the ID to his photo of Teddy, whose real name is John Edward Gammel - "John G. ". Leonard's plan for himself is complete: he concludes that Teddy is the man who raped and killed his wife. He takes Teddy to the abandoned building where he killed Jimmy Grantz only a couple days before and shoots him in the head.

Chronology

When numbering the scenes chronologically, then sorting them how they appear in the film, the pattern becomes more clear. The letters A-V represent the color scenes (with A happening chronologically first, and V chronologically last), and the numbers 1-22 represent the black and white scenes chronologically. The scenes appear in the film like this [1]:

The two types of scenes alternate. The black and white scenes (numbers) start from the very beginning of the events of the film, and work forward to the climax at 22/A, while the color scenes (letters) work backward to the climax at 22/A. The climax scene (22/A) changes to color halfway through, showing the convergence of the two interlaid storylines.

Production

Development

In July of 1996, brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan took a cross-country road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, as Christopher was relocating his home to the West Coast. During the drive, Jonathan pitched the story for the film to his brother, who enthusiastically responded to the idea. ^[1] After they arrived in Los Angeles, Jonathan left for Washington, D. C. , to finish college. Christopher repeatedly asked Jonathan to send him a first draft, and after a few months, Jonathan complied. ^[2] Two months later, Christopher came up with the idea to tell the film backwards, and began to work on the screenplay. Jonathan wrote the short story simultaneously, and the brothers continued to correspond, sending each other each draft of his own work. ^[3]

Jonathan's short story, titled "Memento Mori", is radically different from Christopher's film, although it maintains the same essential elements. In Jonathan's version, Leonard is instead named Earl and is a patient at a mental institution. A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is ^[4] As in the film, his wife was killed by an anonymous man, and during the attack on his wife, Earl lost his short-term memory. Like Leonard, Earl leaves notes to himself and has tattoos with information about the killer. However, in the short story, Earl convinces himself through his own written notes to escape the mental institution and murder his wife's killer for revenge. Unlike the film, there is no ambiguity that Earl finds and kills the anonymous man. ^[4]

In July of 1997, Christopher's girlfriend Emma Thomas showed his screenplay to Aaron Ryder, an executive for Newmarket Films. Emma Thomas is a Film producer, who has been married to Christopher Nolan since 1997 Newmarket Films is an American Film production and distribution company which is a subsidiary of Newmarket Capital Group. Ryder said the script was, "perhaps the most innovative script I had ever seen,"^[5] and soon after, it was optioned by Newmarket and given a budget of $4. 5 million. ^[6] Pre-production lasted seven weeks, during which the main shooting location changed from Montreal, Canada to Los Angeles, California, to create a more realistic and noirish atmosphere for the film. Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation ^[7] The Travel Inn in Tujunga, California, was repainted and used as Leonard's and Dodd's motel rooms. Tujunga (təˈhʌŋɡə is a district in the far northern reaches of the City of Los Angeles California. Scenes in Sammy Jankis' house were shot in a suburban home close to Pasadena, while Natalie's house was located in Burbank. Pasadena ( is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County California, United States. ^[8] The crew planned to shoot the derelict building set (where Leonard kills Teddy and Jimmy) in a Spanish-styled brick building owned by a train company. However, one week before shooting began, the company placed several dozen train carriages outside the building, making the exterior unfilmable. Since the interior of the building had already been built as a set, a new location had to be found. An oil refinery near Long Beach was used instead, and the scene where Leonard burns his wife's possessions was filmed on the other side of the refinery. Long Beach is a city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast ^[9]

Casting

Brad Pitt was initially slated to play the lead role of Leonard. William Bradley "Brad" Pitt Pitt received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys Pitt was interested in the part, but passed due to scheduling conflicts. ^[10] Other considered actors include Aaron Eckhart and Thomas Jane, but the role went to Guy Pearce, who impressed Nolan the most. Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12 1968 is an American film and stage actor Thomas Jane (born February 22, 1969) is an American Actor, known for his roles in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the Pearce was chosen partly for his "lack of celebrity" (after Pitt passed, the budget could not afford A-list stars), and his enthusiasm for the role, evidenced by a personal phone call Pearce made to Nolan to discuss the part. The A-list is a term that alludes to major Movie stars and/or the most bankable in the Hollywood movie industry. ^[11]

After being impressed by Carrie-Anne Moss's performance in the 1999 science fiction film The Matrix, Jennifer Todd suggested her for the part of Natalie. The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction - martial arts - Action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and While Mary McCormack lobbied for the role, Nolan decided to cast Moss as Natalie, saying, "She added an enormous amount to the role of Natalie that wasn't on the page. Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969) is an American television and Film Actress. "^[12] For the corrupt police officer Teddy, Moss suggested her co-star from The Matrix, Joe Pantoliano. Although there was a concern that Pantoliano might be too villainous for the part, he was still cast, and Nolan said he was surprised by the actor's subtlety in his performance. ^[13]

The rest of the film's characters were quickly cast after the three main leads were established. Stephen Tobolowsky and Harriet Sansom Harris play Sammy Jankis and his wife, respectively. Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is a Tony Award -nominated American Actor. Harriet Sansom Harris (born January 8, 1955) is an American Actress Born in Fort Worth Texas, Harris started acting as a youngster and Mark Boone Junior landed the role of Burt, the motel clerk, as Jennifer Todd liked his "look and attitude" for the part (as a result he has re-appeared in minor roles in other productions by Nolan). Mark Boone Junior (born March 17, 1955) is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles in two films by Christopher Nolan, Memento ^[14] Larry Holden plays Jimmy Grantz, a drug dealer and Natalie's boyfriend, while Callum Keith Rennie performs the part of Dodd, a greedy thug owed money by Jimmy. Callum Keith Rennie (born September 14, 1960) is a Canadian television and film actor Rounding out the cast is Jorja Fox as Leonard's wife and Kimberly Campbell as the blond prostitute. Jorja-An Fox (born July 7, 1968, in New York, New York) is an American actress.

Filming

Filming took place from September 7 to October 8, 1999,^[15] a 25-day shooting schedule. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Pearce was on set every day during filming, although all three principal actors (including Pantoliano and Moss) only performed together the first day, shooting exterior sequences outside Natalie's house. All of Moss's scenes were completed in the first week,^[16] including follow-up scenes at Natalie's home, Ferdy's bar, and the restaurant where she meets Leonard for the final time.

Pantoliano returned to the set late in the second week to continue filming his scenes. On September 25, the crew shot the opening scene in which Leonard kills Teddy. Although the scene is in reverse motion, Nolan used forward-played sounds. ^[17] For a shot of a shell casing flying upwards, the shell had to be dropped in front of the camera in forward motion, but it constantly rolled out of frame. Nolan was forced to blow the casing out of frame instead, but in the confusion, the crew shot it backwards. ^[17] They then had to make an optical (a copy of the shot) and reverse the shot to make it go forward again. "That was the height of complexity in terms of the film," Nolan says. "An optical to make a backwards running shot forwards, and the forwards shot is a simulation of a backwards shot. "^[18]

The next day, on September 26, Larry Holden returned to shoot the sequence where Leonard attacks Jimmy. ^[19] After filming was completed five days later, Pearce's voice-overs were recorded. The term voice-over refers to a production technique where a non-diagetic voice is broadcast live or pre-recorded in Radio, Television, Film, For the black-and-white scenes, Pearce was given free rein to improvise his narrative, allowing for a documentary feel. ^[18]

Music

David Julyan composed the film's synthesized score. David Julyan is an English musician and film score composer He composed the scores to several Christopher Nolan films including Memento, Insomnia Julyan acknowledges several synthesized soundtracks that inspired him, such as Vangelis' Blade Runner and Hans Zimmer's The Thin Red Line. Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Born March 29, 1943 in Volos, Greece) ( Greek: Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου Blade Runner is a 1982 American Science fiction Film, directed by Ridley Scott. Hans Florian Zimmer (born September 12, 1957 in Frankfurt/Main, Germany) is an Academy Award, Grammy, and Golden The Thin Red Line is a 1998 war film which tells a fictional story of United States forces during the Battle of Guadalcanal in ^[20] While composing the score, Julyan created different, distinct sounds to differentiate between the color and black-and-white scenes: "brooding and classical" themes in the former, and "oppressive and rumbly noise" in the latter. ^[21] Since he describes the entire score as "Leonard's theme", Julyan says, "The emotion I was aiming at with my music was yearning and loss. But a sense of loss you feel but at the same time you don't know what it is you have lost, a sense of being adrift. "^[22] Initially, Nolan wanted to use Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" during the end credits, but he was unable to secure the rights. Radiohead " Paranoid Android " is a song by English Alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the first single from their 1997 album OK Computer ^[23] Instead, David Bowie's "Something in the Air" is used, although another of Radiohead's songs, an extended version of "Treefingers", is included on the film's soundtrack. David Bowie (ˈboʊiː born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 is an English Musician, actor producer, and arranger. " Something in the Air " is the second track on David Bowie 's 1999 release 'hours Kid A is the fourth album by the English Alternative rock band Radiohead, released on in the United Kingdom and on in the United States and Canada ^[24]

Releases

The film gained substantial word-of-mouth press from the film festival circuit. A film festival is the presentation or showcasing of Films in one or more Movie theaters or screening venues It premiered at the 2000 Venice Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation, and afterwards played at Deauville Festival of American Film and the Toronto Film Festival. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest Film festival in the world The Deauville American Film Festival is a yearly Film festival devoted to American cinema, taking place since 1975 in Deauville, France. The Toronto International Film Festival ( TIFF) is a publicly-attended Film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada ^[25] With the publicity from these events, Memento did not have trouble finding foreign distributors, opening in more than 20 countries worldwide. Its promotion tour ended at the Sundance Film Festival, where it played in January 2001. The Sundance Film Festival is a Film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. ^[26]

Finding American distributors proved more troublesome. Memento was screened for various studio heads (including Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein) in March of 2000. Harvey Weinstein, CBE (Hon (born March 19, 1952) is an American Film producer and movie studio chairman Although most of the executives loved the film and praised Nolan's talent, all passed on distributing the picture, believing it was too confusing and would not attract a large audience. ^[27] After famed independent film director Steven Soderbergh saw the film and learned it was not being distributed, he championed the film in interviews and public events,^[28] giving it even more publicity, although he did not secure a distributor. An independent film, or indie film, is a film that is produced outside of the Hollywood Studio system, a series of oligopolistic practices by several Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14 1963 is an American Film producer, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, editor, and Newmarket, in a financially risky move, decided to distribute the film itself. ^[27] After the first few weeks of distribution, Memento had reached more than 500 theaters and earned a domestic total of $25 million in its box-office run. The film's success was surprising to those who passed on the film, so much so that Weinstein realized his mistake and tried to buy the film from Newmarket. ^[29]

Marketing

Jonathan Nolan designed the film's official website. As with the marketing strategy of The Blair Witch Project, the website was intended to provide further clues and hints to the story, while not providing any concrete information. The Blair Witch Project is a low-budget American Horror film released in 1999 ^[30] After a short intro on the website, the viewer is shown a newspaper clipping detailing Leonard's murder of Teddy. Clicking on highlighted words in the article leads to more material describing the film, including Leonard's notes and photographs as well as police reports. ^[31] The filmmakers employed another tactic by sending out Polaroid pictures to random people, depicting a bloody and shirtless Leonard pointing at an unmarked spot on his chest. ^[32] Since Newmarket distributed the film themselves, Christopher Nolan edited the film's trailers himself. ^[32] Sold to inexpensive cable-TV channels like Bravo and A&E, and websites such as Yahoo and MSN, the trailers were key to the film gaining widespread public notice. Bravo is a Cable television network owned by NBC Universal. It is currently seen in more than 80 million homes and was the first service dedicated to film drama A&E is a cable and Satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, MSN (The M icro' s' oft N etwork is a collection of Internet services provided by Microsoft.

DVD release

The Special Edition DVD's menus are arranged as psychological tests. Psychological testing is a field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to infer generalizations about a given individual Highlighting certain objects will lead to special features.

Memento was released on DVD in the United States and Canada on September 4, 2001, and in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2002. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. It was later re-released in a limited edition DVD that features an audio commentary by Christopher Nolan, the original short story by Jonathan Nolan that the film was based on, and a Sundance Channel documentary on the making of the film. Sundance Channel is a Cable television network devoted to airing independent feature films, World cinema, documentaries, Short ^[33] The DVD contains a hidden feature that allows the viewer to watch the film in chronological order. ^[34]

The Limited Edition DVD is uniquely packaged to look like Leonard's case file from a mental institution, with notes scribbled by "doctors" and Leonard on the inside. ^[34] The DVD menus are designed as a series of psychological tests; the viewer has to choose certain words, objects, and multiple choice answers to play the movie or access special features. Psychological testing is a field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to infer generalizations about a given individual ^[34] Leonard's "notes" on the DVD case offer clues to navigating the DVD.

Reception

Memento was a box office success. During its opening weekend, it was released in only eleven theaters, but by week eleven it was distributed to more than 500 theaters. ^[35] It grossed $25,544,867 in North America and $14,178,229 in foreign countries, making the film's total worldwide gross some $40 million as of August 2007. ^[35] During its theatrical run, it did not place higher than eighth in the list of highest-grossing movies for a single weekend. ^[36]

The film was nominated for Academy Awards in Original Screenplay and Editing, but did not win in either category. ^[37] Because Jonathan Nolan's short story was not published before the film was released, it was nominated for Original Screenplay instead of Adapted Screenplay. The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent Film awards in the United States It was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, but lost to The Believer. The Believer is a 2001 Film written by Henry Bean and Mark Jacobson, and directed by Bean However, it won thirteen awards for Best Screenplay and five awards for Best Picture from various film critic associations and festivals, including the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Sundance Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film critic association ^[37] Christopher Nolan was nominated for three Best Director awards and was awarded one from the Independent Spirit Awards. Founded in 1984, the Independent Spirit Awards were originally known as the FINDIE Awards ("Friends of Independents" and presented winners with Guy Pearce was accorded Best Actor from the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society. The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS is an organization of film reviewers from San Diego -based publications The Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS is a non-profit organization composed of selected print, Television and Internet Film Critics ^[37]

Critical response

Memento received an enthusiastic response from critics, earning a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates professional critiques. Rotten Tomatoes is a Website devoted to reviews information and news of Movies. In Statistics, aggregate data describes data combined from several measurements ^[38] Online film critic James Berardinelli gave the film four out of four stars, ranking it number one on his year-end Top Ten list and number sixty-one on his All-Time Top 100 films. James Berardinelli (born September 1967 is an Online Film critic. ^{[39] [40]} In his review, he called it an, "endlessly fascinating, wonderfully open-ended motion picture [that] will be remembered by many who see it as one of the best films of the year. "^[41] Berardinelli praised the film's backwards narrative, saying that, "what really distinguishes this film is its brilliant, innovative structure," and noted that Guy Pearce gives an, "astounding. . . tight, and thoroughly convincing performance. "^[41] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes that Memento is a, "delicious one-time treat", and emphasizes that director Christopher Nolan, "not only makes Memento work as a non-linear puzzle film, but as a tense, atmospheric thriller. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (popularly known as "the P-I" is one of two daily Newspapers in Seattle Washington, United States. "^[42] Rob Blackwelder noted that, "Nolan has a crackerjack command over the intricacies of this story. He makes every single element of the film a clue to the larger picture. . . as the story edges back toward the origins of [Leonard's] quest. "^[43]

However, not all critics were impressed with the film's structure. Marjorie Baumgarten decided that the film relied too much on the story's reverse chronology and wrote, "In forward progression, the narrative would garner little interest, thus making the reverse storytelling a filmmaker's conceit. "^[44] Sean Burns of the Philadelphia Weekly commented that, "For all its formal wizardry, Memento is ultimately an ice-cold feat of intellectual gamesmanship. Philadelphia Weekly (PW, is an award-winning alternative newspaper in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, published every Wednesday Once the visceral thrill of the puzzle structure begins to wear off, there's nothing left to hang onto. The film itself fades like one of Leonard's temporary memories. "^[45] While Roger Ebert gave the film a favorable three out of four stars, he did not think it warranted multiple viewings. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. After watching Memento twice, he concluded that, "Greater understanding helped on the plot level, but didn't enrich the viewing experience. Confusion is the state we are intended to be in. "^[46]

Scientific response

Many medical experts have cited Memento as one of the most realistic and accurate depictions of anterograde amnesia in any motion picture. Anterograde amnesia is a loss of Memory of what happens after the event that caused the Amnesia; it is different from Retrograde amnesia, where memories Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch called Memento "the most accurate portrayal of the different memory systems in the popular media,"^[47] while physician Esther M. The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private, Coeducational research university located in Pasadena Christof Koch (born November 13, 1956, Kansas City) is an American neuroscientist working on the neural basis of Consciousness Sternberg, Director of the Integrative Neural Immune Program at the National Institute of Mental Health identified the film as "close to a perfect exploration of the neurobiology of memory. The National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH) is part of the federal government of the United States and the largest research organization in the world specializing in " Writing in the journal Science, Sternberg concludes: "This thought-provoking thriller is the kind of movie that keeps reverberating in the viewer's mind, and each iteration makes one examine preconceived notions in a different light. Science is the Academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the world's most prestigious Scientific Memento is a movie for anyone interested in the workings of memory and, indeed, in what it is that makes our own reality. "^[48]

See also

• Episodic memory

Notes

References

• Mottram, James. The Making of Memento. New York: Faber, 2002. ISBN 0571214886

External links

• Memento at the Internet Movie Database
• Memento at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official site
• A detailed analysis of the film by Andy Klein at Salon.com
• Interview: Christopher Nolan by the Onion AV Club
• Review of Memento by the Onion AV Club
• Plot Holes: Memento, a musing on how certain discrepancies might be plot holes or of more significance, on Slate
• Memento and anterograde amnesia
• Metacritic: Memento
• Cinematographic analysis of Memento
• A guide to navigating the film's DVD menus