Barnes & Noble

Plot twisting reaches new heights in Memento, writer/director Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed neo-noir thriller about a man whose obsessive quest to catch his wife's rapist-murderer is hampered by an odd neurological affliction: He has no short-term memory. Memento milks this unusual idea for all it's worth, as the hero, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), struggles to keep track of the people and places he encounters -- and then almost immediately forgets -- using hand-captioned Polaroid photos and an array of messages he tattoos onto his body. The film cleverly challenges narrative conventions by telling its story in reverse, moving backward, step by step, through the series of recent, violent events that Shelby has lived through but can't remember. Pearce brings an element of dark humor to his role, as Shelby struggles with his pathological forgetfulness while the characters around him exploit his affliction to various self-serving ends. Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix) shines as an oily acquaintance who treats Shelby with amused exasperation, and whose relationship to Shelby is a key to the unfolding mystery. But the film's unusual structure is really the star here, exploring with Swiss-watch precision the impaired point of view of its protagonist, for whom life has become a never-ending series of plot twists and fades to black. The Columbia TriStar DVD includes and interview with Nolan, theatrical trailers, a TV spot, and a tattoo gallery. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

A man is determined to find justice after the loss of a loved one, even though he is incapable of fully remembering the crime, in this offbeat thriller. Leonard (Guy Pearce) is a man who is struggling to put his life back together after the brutal rape and murder of his wife. But Leonard's problems are different from those of most people in his situation; he was beaten severely by the same man who killed his wife. The most significant manifestation of Leonard's injuries is that his short-term memory has been destroyed; he is incapable of retaining any new information, and must resort to copious note-taking and Polaroid photographs in order to keep track of what happens to him over the course of a day (he's even tattooed himself with a few crucial bits of information he can't get along without). Leonard retains awareness that his wife was brutally murdered, however, and he's convinced that the culprit still walks the streets. Leonard is obsessed with the notion of taking revenge against the man who has ruined his life, and he sets out to find him, getting help from Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), who appears to be a sympathetic barmaid, and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano), who claims to be Leonard's friend, even though Leonard senses that he cannot be trusted. Writer/director Christopher Nolan adapted Memento from a short story by his brother Jonathan Nolan. Mark Deming

Village Voice

The video stores are filled with examples of retro-noir and neo-noir, but Christopher Nolan's audacious timebender is something else. Call it meta-noir. J. Hoberman

New York Times

A brilliant feat of rug-pulling, sure to delight fans of movies like The Usual Suspects and Pi. A.O. Scott

Product Details

• UPC: 043396065987
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital, stereo
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:50:00
• Sales Rank: 3,113

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Memento / Dogma
• Memento / Following
• Memento / Snatch

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