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Memento (2000)
Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written for the screen and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the 2001 short story "Memento Mori" by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. The film stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano. It follows Leonard Shelby (Pearce), a man who has anterograde amnesia—resulting in the inability to form new long-term memories—and uses an elaborate…
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Shot by Wally Pfister · Cut by Dody Dorn · Music by David Julyan · Ratio 2.35:1 · 113 min
How it was made
- Nolan wrote the script as a straightforward linear story first, then reordered it into its reverse structure afterward, using the linear draft to check the plot's logic held together.
- For the reversed opening shot of a shell casing flying upward off the floor, the crew initially tried dropping it in front of the camera during forward-motion filming, but it kept rolling out of frame; they ended up blowing it out of frame and accidentally filmed it backwards, requiring an optical reversal to make the backwards shot play forwards again.
- A derelict brick building earmarked for the Teddy/Jimmy murder set became unusable one week before shooting when its owner, a train company, parked several dozen carriages outside; with the interior already built, the production moved to an oil refinery near Long Beach instead.
- For Leonard's black-and-white narration scenes, Guy Pearce was given free rein to improvise his voice-over lines to create a documentary feel.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Christopher Nolan
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