Memento

Opening sequence analysis

• Editing: Long take on the shot symbolises to the audience that the polaroids are an important narrative device.

• Narrative enigma created by this insert shot (cinematography) of the murder scene.

• Mise-en-scene: the fading of the polaroid echoes Leonard’s short-term memory loss.

• Leonard’s eyes are pale blue, as are his clothes. There are several blue tones, even in broad daylight, as a reminder that everything is through Leonard’s perspective.

• Reverse editing is a stylistic feature despite serving a narrative purpose

• Could feed into the debate of style over substance.

• sense off cynicism created by the narrative enigmas is a feature of neo-noir films.

Sound upon switch to the black and white narrattive

• Heartbeat = likely makes the audience uncomfortable.

• Sound of the heartbeat could be representative of Leonard’s isolation (caused from his wife’s death + his condition)

• Audience is switched to emulate Leonard’s short-term memory

Post-modern trait (editing): Postmodern films often involve a fragmentation of time, which is represented by the switch (and consistent use) of black and white throughout the film.

Split lighting = good and bad

• Mise-en-scene: dialogue ‘must have forgot’ could be a tongue-in-cheek joke, considering Leonard has short-term memory loss.

• Tongue in cheek humour is another feature of post-modern films.

• Adults tend to reconstruct memories.

Sound used during colour scenes

• Described by David Julyan as being ‘oppressive + rumbly’ for the colour scenes.

• ‘A sense of yearning + loss.. but at the same time you don’t know what you’ve lost’

• Repetition of bullets (prop) show a theme of violence, introduced by the bloody polaroid.

• Props + costumes + scratch on the face = creates a narrative enigma. The audiences jump in between scenes with Leonard to emulate the short-term memory.

• Auteur trait of Nolan = symbolic props often successfully try to capture what is real.

Characters do not have a defining morality = auteur trait.

• Narrative - the opening of the scene is the ending of this scene, which helps to orientate the viewer

• Auteur = concept of time/chronology is often questioned.

• Experimental because of the parallel narrative

• editing is usually shot reverse shot. however, time jumps usually occur mid-action, making them both orientating and disorientating.

Bleak, abandoned plots are part of the neo noir detective aesthetic, which Memento is inspired by.