Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) has a problem; he has anterograde amnesia, which means he can’t produce new memories. The cause of this is from an accident, one which viewers will be able to find out about near the middle of the film. Leonard can remember everything before his accident, but anything after he can’t remember; he can only go on for an uncertain amount of time until his brain restarts, making him lose memory of what just happened.

Leonard’s problem allows director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, The Prestige) to create something truly unique with the film by presenting it in a reverse-chronological order. ‘Memento’ is presented in two different ways throughout; the parts presented in color are played forward, but are ordered chronologically backwards; the parts presented in black-and-white are played forward, and are also ordered in chronologically forward. Some may get slightly confused by this style, but it shouldn’t take long until the concept catches on and is understandable.

‘Memento’s’ backwards-storytelling style is what keeps the film interesting. The viewer only knows as much as Leonard knows, at the beginning, but we gradually know more than him as the film comes to a close (though, we don’t know that much more than him). When new scenes come up, they’re usually funny and entertaining because it makes us wonder how Leonard got himself into that situation; of course, we find this out when the next scene comes up, which ends with the beginning of the previous scene.

The film’s unique style forces viewers to constantly think, question, and assume about many different things within it, which is good. ‘Memento’ forces viewers to pay attention on what’s happening on screen, as well as what those scenes could mean or be leading to.

Throughout the film, Leonard has relationships with different characters, and we never know who is Leonard’s ally or enemy, not what their motives are until the end. Leonard has a close friend, Teddy (Joe Pantoliano), who helps Leonard in his path to find and kill a specific person, but is Teddy really trying to help him or not? Leonard also develops a close relationship with a woman named Natalie (Carrie-Anne moss), whom is also trying to help Leonard find and kill a specific person, but who is Natalie? What’s her motive, and is she truly helping him? Leonard believes someone’s trying to make him kill the wrong person, but since we only know as much as he does, we never know if Teddy is that person, or if Natalie is that person, of if neither of them are the ones trying to lead Leonard in the wrong direction. This confusion and possibility keeps the film entertaining, and opinions regarding Teddy and Natalie will surely switch multiple times throughout the film.

When the film ends (which is technically the beginning), many things are explained. However, these explanations are open to interpretations; just because the film answered certain questions asked throughout, it doesn’t mean those specific answers are the right answer. The ending of ‘Memento’ makes you think about possible scenarios that could have happened before the events of the film, and how those could be important to the film. ‘Memento’, by the end of the film, is pretty straightforward, but like Inception, the film is left open to interpretation.

Director-writer Christopher Nolan does an excellent job at setting up the film’s premise and style. ‘Memento’ is actually adapted from the short story, ‘Memento Mori’, which was written by Nolan’s younger brother, Jonathan Nolan. Christopher Nolan is always skilled in his psychological-thriller type films, and his skill is definitely not missing from ‘Memento’, which is one of his early films.

PS: ‘Memento’ might take some viewers mutiple viewings in order to like. Personally, I didn’t like the film the first time I saw it. The second time around, however, I loved it! Some might like the film the first time, like some people I know.