Memento

7.9

145,285

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Original title: Memento
Year: 2000
Running time: 115 min.
Country: United States
Director: Christopher Nolan
Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan (Story: Jonathan Nolan)
Music: David Julyan
Cinematography: Wally Pfister
Cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jorja Fox
Producer: Newmarket / Summit Entertainment
Genre: Thriller. Mystery | Crime. Revenge. Neo-noir. Cult Movie. Independent Film (US)
Synopsis / Plot: Leonard (Guy Pearce) is an insurance investigator whose memory has been damaged following a head injury he sustained after intervening on his wife's murder. His quality of life has been severely hampered after this event, and he can now only live a comprehendable life by tattooing notes on himself and taking pictures of things with a Polaroid camera. The movie is told in forward flashes of events that are to come that compensate for his unreliable memory, during which he has liaisons with various complex characters. Leonard badly wants revenge for his wife's murder, but, as numerous characters explain, there may be little point if he won't remember it in order to provide closure for him. The movie veers between these future occurrences and a telephone conversation Leonard is having in his motel room in which he compares his current state to that of a client whose claim he once dealt with.

Awards: 2001: Academy Awards: 2 Nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing

2001: Nominated for Golden Globe: Best Screenplay

2001: Sundance Film Festival: Best Screenplay. 2 Nominations

2001: Toronto Film Festival: 2 Awards: Best Movie and Best Screenplay

2001: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Screenplay

2001: American Film Institute (AFI): Top 10 Movies of the Year

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2001: New York Film Critics Circle: Nominated for Best Screenplay

2001: Critics' Choice Awards: Best Screenplay (Nolan). 2 Nominations

2001: Chicago Film Critics Awards: Best Screenplay. 2 Nominations

2001: Independent Spirit Awards: 5 Awards including Best Film & Best Director

2001: Directors Guild of America (DGA): Nominated for Best Director

2001: British Independent Film Awards (BIFA): Best Int. Ind. Film - English Language

Critics' reviews

"I can't remember when a movie has seemed so clever, strangely affecting and slyly funny at the very same time"

Joe Morgenstern: The Wall Street Journal
"You won't forget it (...) "Memento" doesn't just draw you into a dramatic mystery, it makes you aware of human mystery"

Desson Thomson: The Washington Post
"'Memento' is a thriller for people who are sick of thrillers, a puzzle movie in which the puzzle is actually worth the time and effort to solve"

Marc Caro: Chicago Tribune
"'Memento' is a diabolical and absorbing experience (...) It's uncanny in evoking a state of mind (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"A bravura tribute to the spirit of 'Point Blank' (...) 'Memento' deconstructs time and space with Einstein-caliber dexterity in the service of a delectably disturbing tale of revenge"

Lisa Nesselson: Variety
"One of the most original and ultimately confounding mind games to reach the screen since 'The Usual Suspects' (...) The movie is totally absorbing"

Jack Mathews: New York Daily News
"Though 'Memento' is impressive, it doesn't in the end leave much of an impression. Like a day in Leonard's life, it slips easily from memory, favoring sensation over insight"

A. O. Scott: The New York Times
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