Memento: A Modern Classic

Memento: A Modern Classic

Few months back in December 2008 a movie was released named "Ghajini" starring one of the biggest stars of Indian film industry Aamir Khan. I went to watch that movie on the big screen and i wouldn't say i loved the movie but still it was worth one time watch only because of Aamir Khan's magical performance. Now "Ghajini" seems a piece of trash because i happened to watch a far more superior movie on the same lines.

Few days back i watched "Memento". A movie starring Guy Pearce, Carrie Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano. The movie is a classic. The direction by Christopher Nolan is extremely gripping. The narrative is in a very novel way confusing you with different sequencing of scenes. You got to watch this movie at least 2-3 times to understand it fully. The story basically revolves around Guy Pearce trying to avenge her wife's murder. But he is suffering from a short term memory loss syndrome. He can't remember things for more than 15 minutes. If he is stressed the retention time is all the more less. The cast performances are credible. Guy Pearce is good as a person who can't create new memories, Carrie Anne Moss is convincing in her role, Joe Pantoliano is the star of this movie for me. He pulls out an excellent performance out of his bag.

So Christopher Nolan picks this premise of short term memory loss and bases his narrative entirely on it. We are told the story from the perspective of Guy Pearce and sometimes some scenes are shown to clear the confusion of what actually happened. Well story told from the perspective of a man who has a short term memory loss should be confusing and this is what you should expect when you watch this movie.

The ending of the movie is really great and i would keep it into the league of movies like "The Sixth Sense" which leaves their mark on you. Sometimes you would feel confused and would not be able to understand what is happening and why characters are behaving the way they are. For this reason repeat viewings are recommended. The whole movie makes sense when seen in its entirety and characters motives are also clear. Watch this movie for its sheer novelty.

Do not miss it, this is a modern classic!!!