Memento

Leonard Shelby is obsessed with finding the man who assaulted and killed his wife, but he can't form new memories after a head injury, so he wakes up to the same short-term blank over and over. He uses Polaroids, tattoos, and meticulous notes to keep a trail of facts and suspects, trusting those records more than his own perceptions. The film unfolds in an unconventional way, interweaving black-and-white and color sequences and rearranging scenes so the order you see them mimics Leonard's fractured recollection. That structure keeps you off balance as you follow his investigation, meeting allies and antagonists whose motives are unclear until the narrative lets you piece things together. It keeps you guessing.

Released in 2000, Memento was directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay based on a short story by Jonathan Nolan, and stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano, and features a small, focused cast.

Memento earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a rare honor for an indie thriller. That recognition helped raise Christopher Nolan's profile and led critics and festivals to pay closer attention to his next projects. The Oscar nod highlighted Nolan's unusual storytelling and led to bigger opportunities soon.

Its backward-telling structure and unreliable narrator have been widely referenced in film discussions and pop culture. Memento changed how mainstream cinema could play with chronology, and it's often cited in classes and essays on memory, narrative, and the nature of truth. It's taught in film schools and referenced widely today.

Critics praised its inventive structure and Guy Pearce's performance, and audiences responded strongly, reflected in an 8.177/10 average from over 15,700 votes. The film repeatedly focuses on memory, identity, obsession, and how personal records can distort rather than clarify the past. Its ambiguity still prompts debate among viewers and scholars.