Memento Blog

Memento was one of the more confusing movies that I have ever viewed. I believe that according to chapter 5 of the text book, The Art of Watching Film, I believe the movie had a subjective point of view. I believe the director was also focusing solely on a few key characters. I believe Memento had a very small cast consisting of 3 main characters. If the movie would have had any more characters than this it would have been nearly impossible to watch.

I have never seen a movie scripted quite this way. The main character Leonard suffers from short term memory loss. The movie starts out where a conventional movie would have ended. As the show progresses you gradually gain information through play backs that describes the actions that previously happened. Throughout the course of the movie the viewer is gradually brought back in time one event at a time.

As I read chapter 4 of the text I was able to tune my attention to the lighting and the time of day the movie took place. I have to be honest this is something I have never paid attention to in the past. Memento was shot during the day light hours. I do not recall one night scene in the entire movie. The movie mainly took place in the main character’s hotel and car.

The producer really helped out the audience through the use of black and white vs. color. The producer had all of the flash back memories recorded in black and white. When the Leonard  is involved in real time the movie is shot in color.

I feel the movie is looking to get a message out about how hard it would be to suffer from short term memory loss. There is a little irony involved in the film as Leonard dealt with an insurance claim where one of his clients had short term memory loss. Leonard eventually ruled that the guy was mentally unstable and his insurance company would not cover the claim. Eventually the client lost his family and ended up institutionalized.

Memento was a very good watch. I do agree with the text in chapter 1 of the text referring to having to watch this movie multiple times. I would recommend this movie with the warning that it will not be satisfying on the first watch. I would also throw out the disclaimer that it needs to be very quiet during the watch. The movie requires your full attention.