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Husband and I finally saw Memento. I'll start with the warnings: it's rated R for good reason. The movie is disturbing and violent. I don't consider the violence graphic (I walked out for one particular scene in Syriana, to give you a sense of how sensitive I am; fortunately we were at home, and Brilliant Husband called me back in when the scene ended). And the violence is quite necessary to the plot. Still, if you don't handle violence well, don't see this movie.
If you want to see a smart, well-directed, well-acted, thought-provoking movie, then you might want to see Memento. Guy Pearce puts in an excellent performance. Carrie-Ann Moss is brilliant; I have felt for years that she's underrecognized (and was woefully underutilized in The Matrix movies, but that could start me on a rant that would take paragraphs and paragraphs). The direction is great, the story kept me at the edge of my seat.
I knew next to nothing about the movie, including that main story proceeded backwards; we both had a "Hey, so that's what's going on!" moment near the beginning. (It was, however, easier to follow than Primer; but what isn't?) I think telling Leonard's story backwards and Sammy's forwards was brilliant.
Now, of course, we've sent the movie back to Netflix, and my head keeps throwing up a couple of scenes I should have tried to find again; perhaps one of you, my faithful readers, can help me. We finished watching the movie shortly before our bedtime, and we've been really tired, so we didn't rewatch any parts of it; I wish I'd thought to keep it another day or two to check things.
Do I recall correctly that when we saw Sammy in the institution, once the orderly walked past him, we momentarily saw Leonard in his place?
And I seem to recall a scene where Leonard had "I did it!" tattooed on his left pec at the end, when he was in bed with--who? Was his memory throwing up his wife? Or was it Natalie? When is that scene set? Does it ever happen? (Did he get the tattoo and then have it removed? But he seemed in the picture of himself that Teddy gave him to be pointing at the blank spot, like "That's where I'm going to get the tattoo"--and according to Teddy, that photo was taken right after he killed The Guy Who Did It.)
There is no way on God's green earth Callum Keith Rennie is 6'2, as Leonard's note had him listed. IMDb gives 5'11--the same height as Guy Pearce. Did they inflate one character's height to make the star look taller? Heights are the subject of an upcoming rant, but that rant will take me a while, and I have more pressing matters to attend. (Stay tuned!)
If you want to see a smart, well-directed, well-acted, thought-provoking movie, then you might want to see Memento. Guy Pearce puts in an excellent performance. Carrie-Ann Moss is brilliant; I have felt for years that she's underrecognized (and was woefully underutilized in The Matrix movies, but that could start me on a rant that would take paragraphs and paragraphs). The direction is great, the story kept me at the edge of my seat.
I knew next to nothing about the movie, including that main story proceeded backwards; we both had a "Hey, so that's what's going on!" moment near the beginning. (It was, however, easier to follow than Primer; but what isn't?) I think telling Leonard's story backwards and Sammy's forwards was brilliant.
Now, of course, we've sent the movie back to Netflix, and my head keeps throwing up a couple of scenes I should have tried to find again; perhaps one of you, my faithful readers, can help me. We finished watching the movie shortly before our bedtime, and we've been really tired, so we didn't rewatch any parts of it; I wish I'd thought to keep it another day or two to check things.
Do I recall correctly that when we saw Sammy in the institution, once the orderly walked past him, we momentarily saw Leonard in his place?
And I seem to recall a scene where Leonard had "I did it!" tattooed on his left pec at the end, when he was in bed with--who? Was his memory throwing up his wife? Or was it Natalie? When is that scene set? Does it ever happen? (Did he get the tattoo and then have it removed? But he seemed in the picture of himself that Teddy gave him to be pointing at the blank spot, like "That's where I'm going to get the tattoo"--and according to Teddy, that photo was taken right after he killed The Guy Who Did It.)
There is no way on God's green earth Callum Keith Rennie is 6'2, as Leonard's note had him listed. IMDb gives 5'11--the same height as Guy Pearce. Did they inflate one character's height to make the star look taller? Heights are the subject of an upcoming rant, but that rant will take me a while, and I have more pressing matters to attend. (Stay tuned!)
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