Christopher Nolan’s Memento, is a film that relies on a unique storytelling element; its entire sequencing is backwards. Memento begins with Leonard, a man with short term memory loss and a need to avenge the murder of his wife, developing a photo of a dead man in reverse. From that scene onward, the film is presented in reverse order, with the individual scenes being shown normally rather than in reverse. This left me wondering what was going on, and while it was a little disorienting, it was interesting to try and piece together the actual events and decipher what was happening to Leonard.

The film itself is a very tangled web, the flow of the story changing around halfway through, proceeding in a chronological order to end at the big jaw-dropping conclusion, which ultimately reveals the truth about Leonard’s condition and his life. The details that are presented during Memento are extremely crucial to understanding the film’s plot, and the non-chronological flow of the film demands that the viewer pay attention to the events that take place. From my own perspective, the film was rather immersive, and drew me in with the uncertainty of what was real or fabricated by another character, especially with the introduction of Natalie, who turns out to play a major role by manipulating Leonard through the first half of the film (a fact not realized until the end of the film).

The style of Memento is unique, but the twists are a key feature in Nolan’s own style, given that Nolan also created the film Inception, which prides itself on its uncertainties. I think that I’m most interested in the fact that he used chronological order in the end, as well as flashbacks, to clear up all the loose ends. It was especially interesting how in certain areas of the film, there seems to be an overarching conversation between Leonard and someone on a telephone, as it adds to the mystery while providing information about Leonard.

When I look at Memento, it seems like a film that revolutionized the film industry. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it, and I believe that in art, sequence and presentation are the two most important methods of controlling how the viewer experiences someone’s creation. If Memento was shown in chronological order, it might’ve had a predictable outcome, or may have been less intriguing. By controlling the work and how others perceived its flow and sequence, Nolan created a whole new sense of uncertainty, and used it to blindside the audience.