Neo-noir - Menmento

 Memento (2000) is a neo-noir made in America and is a physiological thriller which involves a clever plot. The film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Guy Pearce has received following its success great reviews as well as being nominated for an academy award in both original screenplay and film editing. Along with being known for its success, the movie has also been known for making a distinction between story and plot, and this is largely down to the film making use of a non linear narrative which was popular in classic noirs. This type of narrative is employed intelligently through the movie to confuse the viewers as well as to slowly reveal to them how the events which they first see in the film occurred and the reasons behind them. The movie is based a great detail around ‘Memento Mori’ which is a short story by Christopher Nolan’s younger brother Jonathan and is adapted from this story.

 As I previously mentioned Memento uses a non linear narrative but this however is not used in the conventional way. The movie switches between two different storylines throughout – one in colour and one in black and white. The black and white story is portrayed to the audience in chronological order while the colour story is in non chronological order. By the end of the film the two separate storylines are brought together and the full picture of what had occurred at the start of the movie using non linear narrative is revealed to the viewer.

 At the start of the film the main character Leonard (Guy Pearce) is shown killing a man. It becomes clear as the story thickens that Leonard suffers from anterograde amnesia which means that his brain does not store memories of his recent events but these events are remembered by him at a later time. The movie is very much based around Leonard’s search to find the killer of his wife, at the time of the killing Leonard hit his head causing his mental condition to occur as a result, there is because of this is a close relation between Leonard and the viewer as he remembers details from his memory as the audience is shown them. Learning to cope with his mental illness throughout the film, Leonard has tattoos printed on himself to remember important details of his investigation before they are forgotten. The two storylines are switched constantly throughout the film. The black and white storyline told chronologically is based one a phone call Leonard has in a motel room in which he compares his condition of amnesia to that of a client he once knew while the colour story is told backwards (non chronologically) is based on his investigation to find he killer of his wife.

 Near the end of the film the two storylines meet as Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) reveals to Leonard that due to his memory issues he has confused his own life with Sammy’s (who Leonard refers to in the phone call) and that Leonard’s wife is already dead. Teddy says also that he and the Jimmy G, the man who is shown dead at the start and is near death on the floor at the point, had previously killed the man (John G) who is reasonable for Leonards’ wife’s death. However Leonard denies this as a possibility and vows to continue his search for John G, who Leonard believes killed his wife, at this point Teddy reveals that his real name is John G and there are many people of the same first name and initial for it to be an almost impossible search. In the final scenes of the film Leonard is shown in the queue for a tattoo of Sammy’s licence plate, which suggests to the viewer he is Leonard’s next target for the killing of his wife, and that the story may not ever reach a resolution.

 The movie is an example of how some of the classic elements which contributed to the success of film noir as a genre can be brought into a more recent society. Typically as with the classics there was a sense of the audience being drawn to support the anti-hero as through the film they grow to understand his problems after the quick reveal at the beginning and the gradual unravel of how the death occurred. Memento can also been seen as showing some traits which are common in neo-noirs such as the memory loss which is a feature in neo-noirs at times and the mix of colour and black and white to create effect as well as remind the viewer that they are watching a movie. This is a trait which is not seen in many of the classics which were portrayed in dark and mysterious way where lighting was used greatly and not colour though it was available in the classic film noir era.

 Another interesting factor to Memento is that it is constructed like classics noirs such as Double Indemnity using a non linear narrative. This immediately draws the attention of the viewer and they are encouraged to find out how the situation in the future has arisen. It is a factor however that there is a switch between the storylines rather than just a having either chronological or non chronological storyline as this helps to create to the reaction which is intended for the viewer when watching the film.

 As I touched on at the start Memento can be used to distinguish between a plot and a story as there can at times be confusion. The film shows this as the audience is not made aware until the very end of the whole situation and only at this point does the story make sense for the viewer. Memento therefore shows that the story is what happens in the film, as well as showing the plot is how it is revealed to viewers i.e. the order of the story being told, which is non linear.

 One of the central traits of Memento which can be easily linked to both neo noirs like Sin City and film noirs such as Double Indemnity is the use of black and white. In the chronologically told story where Leonard is on the phone, this is portrayed in black and white, which adds to the effect and mystery of the story. A scene from the phone call where the tattoo is revealed saying ‘never answer the phone’ uses different close ups and high angle shots to create the effect of almost isolation in the bedroom of Leonard. The scene is as the rest of the phone call is in black and white and shows the only source of light in the room as coming from the window which in turn creates shadows similar to the ones used in classic noirs.