Memento

Memento by Christopher Nolan

Memento is a psychological thriller about a man suffering from short-term memory loss. The film is edited so that the plot is revealed backwards in ten-minute chunks, giving viewers the feeling of experiencing memory loss. The man makes sense of the world by having an evolving series of facts and memories provided by annotated Polaroid photos and tattoos on his body.

The twist in the film reveals the self-written messages are self-created lies – to kill the murderer of his wife – which he knows he’ll forget within minutes of writing it. He discovers that he has killed before to satisfy this crave, and each time, he gives himself a new set of false clues to lead to another victim.

It’s a strange thought to consider what I would do in a similar situation. Presumably if I had long term memories from before a particular moment in time, it would be possible to build a life around that, whilst leaving myself answers to common questions, – What’s the date? What do I have to do today? Who am I married to?  – in a notepad, etc. Another positive is the despair you felt every time you realised you had no idea how you got to where you are, would be being felt for the first time! Actually, now I think about it I can see some real plus points from things I’d rather forget: finding out someone close has died; rejection from a girl; road rage; nightmares from watching a scary movie! Sounds good to me!

"The Not-So-Silent-Observer"