This fuckin movie. It ain’t exactly the best film to be watchin drunk. The main character has no short-term memory. He remembers the old stuff, before the Incident. But since then? He’s good for 5 minutes, maybe 15 tops. Then BLOOOP. Reset. Pretty messed up, right? Genius filmatic ploy to then show the story in reverse. In said 5-15 minute chunks. Well done there. Makes for a helluva watching experience.
Leonard, or Lenny, as people like to call him, can’t remember things too good. He takes instant pictures (or “Polaroids” as it’s known back in the day) to try to keep notes of his investigatins. Tattoos for the important stuff. Because, shit, you reset every 15 minutes, you need a system, right? Especially when you are trying to find the bastard that raped and killed your wife. Sticky situation, that is. Doesn’t help that pretty much everybody he meets somehow manipulates him for whatever reasons, knowing his condition. It’s rather, some would say, Fucked Up. I seem to use that term a lot. I guess I should watch different kinds of movies. Especially ones without Unremembered Vengeance.
The reverse order of the film to represent his unique form of amnesia is a quite brilliant mechanism. Black and white helps differentiate with some flashbacks. First major film by director Christopher Nolan, this really put him on the map of directors to watch. And while he did a good job with the early 2000-era Batman movies, the ones dealing somehow with time are, like this, both a pleasure and a fuckery to watch (aka Inception, Interstellar, Tenet). Guy Pearce does a great job in the lead, with great support by Carrie-Anne “Matrix” Moss and Joe “Risky Goonies Matrix Business” Pantoliano, sporting a fine ‘stache here, btw. Is Teddy his buddy? Is he who he says he is? Is Natalie on the level? Who the fuck knows. Shit. Maybe is it the Best Film to be watchin drunk. Just don’t follow this with Gasper Noé’s Irreversible. That’s too much to take in a night. Shit. Even a week’s spacing wouldn’t help that mindfuck. Give it a month, just to be sure.
