Christopher Nolan explains the meaning behind ‘Memento’
Telling a story that progresses naturally from point A to point B has never been in the cinematic wheelhouse of Christopher Nolan, not that it’s done a thing to prevent him from becoming one of the most popular and widely-respected filmmakers of the 21st century.
Even when approaching genres that have their own set of tropes, trappings, and conventions, Nolan will find a way to turn expectations on their head. Dunkirk was based on a real-life historical event and occupied the well-trodden territory of the war epic, and yet he subverted narrative standards to tell a three-pronged tale distinctly spit between land, sea, and air.
Similarly, Oppenheimer was based on real people and real events, but Nolan still put his own spin on the biopic formula by flitting backwards and forwards in time to add new depth and complexities to the characters as the story unfolded on-screen. Of course, he’s not above twisting viewers in knots, either, something that dates right back to his breakout feature Memento.
A psychological murder mystery thriller drenched in existentialism and experimentation, the tale of Guy Pearce’s amnesiac unravelling the identity of his wife’s murderer was dissected, discussed, and debated in minute detail, but it wasn’t until after it was released that Nolan would address its multifaceted structure head-on.
When he did, it necessitated the use of a chalkboard, with Nolan explaining that “the best way to draw it is as a hairpin.” At the point it curves around, he calls it “basically the end of the movie.” At the bottom is “the black and white stuff,” with the colour scenes on top “running backwards as a series of jumps.”
Explaining the process, Nolan notes that “what we do is we cut between the two the whole way through, so we alternate.” Flitting back and forward between monochromatic sequences and colour cinematography isn’t just to create an air of intrigue and disorientation; it serves a key narrative purpose as “they meet towards the end of the film” as the revelations begin laying themselves bare.
Of course, Nolan admits that there’s even more to Memento than that, pointing out that “within this you have flashbacks to a different timeline which is actually even earlier,” a sentiment that applies to both the black-and-white and colour sequences. It’s enough to make anybody’s head spin when it’s being laid out visually and then explained by its creator, but it’s much easier to watch the film and go along for the ride than having its intricacies spelt out beat-for-beat.
The narrative is watertight, ambitious, and complicated without being outright confusing, and that approach has applied to the vast majority of Nolan’s filmography ever since. Sometimes, it can’t be fully understood or grasped by a single viewing, but it also helps that his movies are all eminently re-watchable.
