Memento

Here it is. The cleverest film this century has to offer so far, has made it's way onto Special Edition DVD. Though the movie itself is worth five stars alone, I found that the special features surprisingly let it down.

Written and directed by the critically acclaimed Christopher Nolan (The Following, Batman Begins), while including talent such as Guy Pearce and Joe Pantoliano, this is by far the most inventive film in years. Starting with a horrific yet beautiful scene where Leonard (Pearce) kills a man in cold blood, the film begins to track events that took place before the incident. We soon discover that his actions were fuelled by the revenge for his dead wife, while a rare disorder means he is unable to keep new memories. Nolan manages to put us in Leonard's shoes by shuffling the scenes in reverse order, meaning that we too are unaware of the previous events that took place. To remind himself where he is, and what he is doing, Leonard constantly makes notes so he can carry on tracking down his wife's killer. The film quickly becomes sort of a 'why dunnit' than a 'who dunnit' by effectively taking us back through time to the story's origin. Even while having Leonard's various messages to work from, the film still manages to pull off a few suprises, ending with a truly unexpected final twist.
Apart from the addition of the director's commentary, I was actually quite disappointed with the special features in this edition. Don't be fooled by the idea that the extra two discs are full of new goodies. Because to be honest... they're not. There's about one or two more documentaries than the original edition, and an additional option where you can view the screenplay while watching the film, (very useful for budding filmmakers!). But this is hardly enough extras to fill TWO WHOLE DISKS! Considering only big-budget epics (such as 'Lord of the Rings') have enough extra features to manage this. However you may enjoy the hidden 'Easter Egg' where you can view the whole film in chronological order. Even though this feature was also included in previous editions.

I very much recommend you getting this if you haven't already. If you already own an older version however, I would advise you not to bother buying the Special Edition just for one or two extra features.

There's not much to add to what's already been said about this truly excellent movie. It works because of the way it's made - the trick of telling the story in reverse puts you right inside the head of Leonard and leaves you as confused as he is. My only gripe about this DVD is the thing most other people seem to like - namely the hidden feature which plays the scenes in forward order. I'd seen the film 5 times before I watched this 'forward' version and each viewing was a splendidly confusing experience; the film made more and more sense every time - each viewing held new revelations. Now, having watched it 'forwards' and having had my deductions confirmed, I've rather lost the will to watch the 'normal' film again which I think is a great shame.
So, buy the disc, watch the film again and again, but only watch the 'forwards' version if you're totally confused.

If you're looking for something intense, suspenseful, and different than your usual effects-packed thriller, this is the best movie you will see in a long time.

The movie starts with a murder -- a revenge killing, in fact. But was the right person killed?

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is a man with no short-term memory. He hasn't been able to form new memories since the night his wife was murdered. Now he's on a hunt to find the murderer but with no way of remembering names, dates, places, facts and faces. I am not going to say more not to spoil the numerous surprises. Trust me though, it's really great!

Don't worry about trying to empathize with Leonard because Writer/Director Christopher Nolan puts you right in Leonard's shoes. You live the story in reverse order so that you never know more than Leonard does. In one scene you see Leonard getting information from a person who knows him -- maybe a good person; maybe bad. In the next scene you see a previous meeting between the two which sheds more light on their relationship. Later still you see how they met. But is that all of the story? You've yet to find out... and you won't know everything until the last scene. By living it backwards, you, like Leonard, have no knowledge of what came before.

It's brilliant story telling. But you might get frustrated because you don't know what's going on. In fact, that's the whole idea. Just sit back, try to relax (though that's difficult in this movie), and find out just how twisted and complex Leonard's world is.

This film will leave its own memento on your mind, and you'll have a hard time forgetting how much you enjoyed it. At least, that worked for me!