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Clayton Singer

CST 151

Prof. Awad

10.06.2019

Film Analysis Paper #2: Memento

Looking at films and analyzing them is something that has become common in our

everyday lives. We have professions that are dedicated to it, and websites and shows to watch so

we can be informed on what others think about certain films. For the most part, films have a

rather similar structure, called the three-act structure. This three-act structure tends to be one of a

linear story-telling, however, some films stray away and form a non-linear structure. Memento

directed by Christopher Nolan takes a whole new perspective to the three-act structure and non-

linear story-telling that Hollywood and its audience are accustomed to. Nolan gives us, the

audience, a rather intriguing take with trying to comprehend not only an unconventional timeline

but also how our minds and our memories are both unreliable and unpredictable. I would like to

investigate the deeper meanings that Nolan intended to get across by showing that our memories

do in fact create our identities and without them, our identities are a filler of once was.

“Memento chronicles two separate stories of Leonard (Guy Pearce), an ex-insurance

investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his

wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One storyline moves forward in time while the other

tells the story backward revealing more each time.” (Scion013) The film also includes other

supporting characters such as Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) who are

broadcasted in different ways throughout the film. During the movie Teddy (Pantoliano) is
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portrayed in a way that is always changing in the eyes of both Lenny (Pearce) and the audience,

with ultimately being shown in act three as a somewhat ally in the search for Lenny’s wife’s

killer as well as helping himself get rid of drug dealers by having Lenny kill them convincing

each time that they were the “John G” that had killed Lenny’s wife. Natalie (Moss) is shown as

an ally through most of the film until we see in act two of the film that she has been using Lenny

for her own problems to be dealt with as well. Both these themes of the supporting characters

provide an interesting take on the lack of humanity that is in the world today. Both supporting

characters see that they can get Lenny to do their “dirty work” done without having to worry

about any of it coming back to bite them in the ass. An unfortunate but very true part of the

world that we live in today is indeed the fact that most people if given the chance, will use others

for their own gain, especially if there is minimal chance of those actions coming back around.

The way that Nolan uses these characters to provide a look into humanity as well as showing the

struggles of what a lack of mind or identity can do to a person is a rather tough pill to swallow.

Another aspect of this film I would like to examine would be the structure, being that at first

glance, it differs from the “Hollywood” norm.

When first watching this film, I was under the impression that Nolan had created a film

that broke out of the three-act structure that Hollywood uses as a standard. However, after

carefully analyzing the multiple times I was able to see that even with a nonlinear structure and a

rather unique timeline, the film was in fact still following a three-act. Before I breakdown the

structure, it would make sense to explain what the acts are of the three-act structure. Act one is

called the set-up, in which a story begins to lay the “groundwork” and provides a backstory for

the film or story and introduces the main character along with supporting characters most of the

time. Act two is called the confrontation and consists of the “meat” of the film. This act
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introduces different amounts of conflict into the main characters' life and provides more detail

into the main character and supporting characters. In between acts two and three tends to have

the “Climax”, where the story reaches its pinnacle or everything that has happened has come to a

final battle or struggle. Act three is called the resolution, and this is where the main character has

overcome the climax and deals with the after-effects of both the confrontations and climax of the

story. In the film, Act one occurs when Lenny kills Teddy as well as when the foundation of the

story is laid, showing that Lenny has a short-term memory problem after a horrific accident

where his wife was murdered by a man named John G. Act two is when we follow Lenny around

during his investigation of trying the find John G. and with the “help” from bothering Teddy and

Natalie. It’s also a very important thing to mention that Lenny uses polaroid pictures and his

body as a canvas during the movie to help him remember pivotal things either relating to the

case, or to himself. Part of act two also is both when we see Lenny chasing after, as well as being

chased by the drug dealer whom Natalie says has been abusing her and threating her life. We

also see the truth of what Natalie’s intentions are even after Teddy tried to convince Lenny not to

trust her when she entices Lenny to punch her after ridiculing him for being mentally impaired.

Now the climax was a bit difficult to pinpoint but, in my opinion, it is when Teddy is revealed to

be a cop that has been helping Lenny track down John G. and when Lenny ends up at that

abandoned building and kills Natalie’s boyfriend. Act three brings us to the resolution of the film

which is unique in the way that for me at least, it was quite a frustrating resolution. We see that

Teddy helped Lenny track down the killer of his wife over a year ago and see the photo of Lenny

bloodied up after the murder of the real John G. and pointing to where he is going to get the

tattoo of the proof. However, Lenny, with his unfortunate disease, is not able to remember and

has no tattoo to show for it, thanks to Teddy, and so he is unable to accept what Teddy is telling
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him and decides to write “Do Not Trust” on Teddy's picture and walks into the abandoned

building to kill Teddy (John G). This structure was a rather hard one to follow but very

interesting in the way that Christopher Nolan used as a metaphor between Lenny’s memory

impairment. Nolan shows the audience almost what it would feel like to be Lenny, especially the

first time watching, giving a sense of complete disorder and confusion.

Ultimately Memento tells a story that is rather unique in its creative way of being told.

Between the narrative structure and characters portrayed in this film, Nolan creates a feeling of

chaos that leaves the audience almost dizzy and shows that without having our memories to use

as a baseline of who we are as people, we are subject to not only the cruel truths of humanity but

also a complete loss of who we once were. A film that is unique in its own way, however, fell

short for me in the sense of relying so much on a different way to view a film, that the frustration

of multiple questions that will always remain unanswered leaves me with a sour taste in my

mouth.
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Bibliography

“Memento.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 11 Oct. 2000, www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/.