Memento

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Suffering short-term memory loss after a head injury, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) embarks on a grim quest to find the lowlife who murdered his wife in this gritty, complex thriller that packs more knots than a hangman's noose. To carry out his plan, Shelby snaps Polaroids of people and places, jotting down contextual notes on the backs of photos to aid in his search and jog his memory. He even tattoos his own body in a desperate bid to remember.
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Netflix Rating: 3.8
Top Rotten Tomatoes Critics: More a puzzle than a meaningful story, it reminds me of how Edmund Wilson compared reading a mystery to eagerly unpacking a box of excelsior, only to find a few rusty nails at the bottom. full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Memento is one of those jigsaw puzzles whose pieces snap together more tightly with each viewing. Fueling it all is a performance by Guy Pearce that's as indelible as the tattoo ink covering his body. full review

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly

I am neither upset nor disturbed by Memento , only vaguely dissatisfied. I simply don't buy Jonathan Nolan's thesis that audiences know all the tropes and tricks of crime thrillers backward and forward. full review

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

It's all pretty confusing, but then again, so were many of the classic film noirs. full review

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

Wild, daring, smart and funny, Memento is this year's quirky film-festival hit that deserves to break out of the art houses and into mainstream consciousness. full review

Houston Chronicle, Houston Chronicle

Terrifically satisfying film.

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Christopher Nolan's extraordinary film is a brainteaser and a heartbreaker. full review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A diabolical and absorbing experience. full review

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Memento doesn't just draw you into a dramatic mystery, it makes you aware of human mystery. And that's food for thought and entertainment. full review

Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Challenge all viewers and gives them plenty to ponder after the credits roll, the lights go out and they reach the parking lot. full review

Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Bound to be talked about, debated and eviscerated far more than it's understood. full review

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Nolan uses the structure simply as a gimmick to refresh a stale story of revenge, crime, sex, a film noir that never gets any darker than gris.

Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

Full of odd, hypnotic menace. full review

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Nolan is a breath of fresh air as a filmmaker. full review

Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

It will be an unadventurous or lazy filmgoer who doesn't want to play the movie's ingenious game.

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Destined to become a new noir classic. full review

Steven Rosen, Denver Post

Memento's boldest stroke is its ingenious synthesis of structure and theme. full review

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

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. full review

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune

full review by Susan Stark, Detroit News

full review by Globe and Mail, Globe and Mail