Memento (2000)

Memento follows Leonard Shelby, a former insurance investigator whose life is shattered when a head injury sustained during his wife’s murder leaves him unable to form new memories. Determined to find and kill the man he believes responsible, Leonard develops an elaborate system of Polaroid photos, written notes and permanent tattoos to carry facts forward for him. As he pursues “John G.” he encounters a slick stranger named Teddy and a volatile bartender, Natalie—people who may help him or be manipulating him, and a recurring, haunting story about a man called Sammy Jankis that forces Leonard (and the audience) to question what really happened. The film’s narrative is itself a puzzle: two intercut storylines move in opposite temporal directions—one advancing forward, the other running backward—so the viewer learns details in an unusual order. This structure mirrors Leonard’s fractured perception and turns the movie into an active experience of piecing together clues. Each revelation reframes what came before, and small details take on big significance as you try to separate motive from self-deception. Watching Memento is an intense, disorienting ride. You’ll feel the same confusion and urgency that haunt Leonard—fragmented memories, shifting loyalties, and the constant dread that your own sense of truth might be a constructed narrative. The film blends noir-ish tension, psychological depth and moral ambiguity, delivering clever twists that force you to rethink character intentions and the nature of memory itself. Ultimately Memento is both a thriller and a meditation on identity and revenge: gripping and unsettling, it rewards careful attention and stays with you afterward as you piece together its moral and emotional puzzle.

Actors: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Director: Christopher Nolan

Runtime: 113 min

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

7.8 /10 83 /100 8.4 /10 8.2 /10