Memento is a 2000 American mystery thriller film directed and written by Christopher Nolan and jointly produced by Suzanne and Jennifer Todd. The narrative of the film was based on a pitch by Nolan’s brother Jonathan, who adapted the notion into the 2001 novella “Memento Mori.”
Guy Pearce portrayed Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia, a condition that causes short-term memory loss and the inability to develop new memories. He’s looking for the people who attacked him and killed his wife, and he’s utilizing a complex system of Polaroid photos and tattoos to seek out information he can’t recall.
The nonlinear narrative of the film is presented in two different sequences of scenes scattered throughout the film: one in black-and-white that is displayed chronologically, and another in a color that is exhibited in reverse order (simulating for the audience the mental state of the protagonist). After the film, the two sequences come together to form a single, unified story.
Critics lauded it for its nonlinear structure and concepts of memory, perception, bereavement, and self-deception, and it grossed $40 million more than its $4.5 million budget. Memento was nominated for Oscars in the categories of Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
The film is now largely acknowledged as one of Nolan’s best and most influential works, as well as one of the best films of the decade. The film was designated for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017 by the United States Library of Congress as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.’
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