Memento

Memento is not Christopher Nolan’s debut film, but it is the film that rocketed him into the consciousness of the film world at large – and for good reason. Memento might be a simple detective tale, a man avenging his wife’s death, but what makes Memento incredibly unique is the way it’s told, and the way it’s told is uniquely Christopher Nolan.

If you haven’t seen Memento before, stop reading this review now and go find the film and watch it – just make sure you’re alert and pay attention or you’ll be lost within the first twenty minutes.

Now, those of you that have seen the film, I’m sure you can agree with me that what makes the murder/revenge tale of Memento so engaging is that it’s told backwards. Normally, if watching this kind of tale, we wouldn’t care that Shelby Leonard can’t remember more that five minutes at a time and keeps notes on what happens as the people around him double cross him. However, instead of letting us watch Shelby’s lement stage by stage as it progresses to it’s ultimate end, Nolan puts the viewer into Shelby’s confusion by telling the story backwards – starting at the end and progressing to the beginning. Doing this makes the significance of what would have otherwise been at the end of the film (but is instead at the beginning) so much more potent – Shelby doesn’t understand the true meaning, and neither do we until we reach the beginning and see the event that led us there.

Memento also has something else that is the hallmark of a Nolan film – three incredible performances. Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss & Joe Pantoliano each give amazing performances in this film, which is an astounding thing. Guy Pearce has to master the art of approaching each scene as though he doesn’t know why his character is there, Carrie-Anne Moss is deceptively innocent until she briefly reveals her true nature, and Joe Pantoliano manages to play the line between smarmy and trust-worthy as though it were second nature.

While Memento isn’t a perfect movie, it excels because of it’s handling. A simple story told well, is always better than a complex story told poorly. Memento is proof of that.


Director: Christopher Nolan




Leonard Shelby: I always thought the joy of reading a book is not knowing what happens next.

Fido

In the brain and not the chest.
Originally uploaded by m a n d a

Timmy Robinson is growing up in a world where zombies are a part of society. A company called ZomCom took control after the zombie wars and found a way to control the zombies and any zombie that wears a ZomCom collar has their appetite for human flesh controlled enough that they can become a part of society as grunt labor. Mrs. Robinson longs for a zombie servant and Timmy longs for a friend, so when she defies her husband and buys a zombie she and Timmy slowly begin to bond with Fido while her husband stays in denial about the zombie infected world around him. Timmy soon begins a friendship with the zombie, whom he names Fido and one day Fido accidently kills a neighbor and Timmy realizes he has to cover up the murder before his mother and the head of ZomCom security can find out and take Fido away.

Fido is one of the most quirky films I’ve seen in a very long time. This is a world where zombies are totally real, corporate America has evolved to incorporate them, cities are protected by fences from the “wild” where they roam, and the average citizen saves all of their life for a funeral which will prevent them from being a zombie after they die because you get a head casket so your head is kept separate from your body. Combine all of these items with a 1950’s aesthetic and you have the world of Fido.

Carrie Anne Moss plays Timmy’s mother in this film and outside of The Matrix and Memento I can’t recall anything else I’ve seen her in. However, Moss is perfect as Timmy’s repressed mother. Like Timmy all she wants is for the neighbors to accept them and Mr. Robinson to pay attention to her and Timmy. The man is so oblivious to his family that he doesn’t even realize Helen is pregnant again, and Moss plays the repressed and overlooked side of Helen beautifully, clearly coming off as the mother who wants more for her son than she has.

This is the only film I’ve ever seen by Andrew Currie, but Fido is so unique that I think I will gladly check out his future projects.

Director: Andrew Currie
Writers: Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie & Dennis Heaton
Helen Robinson: Carrie-Anne Moss
Fido: Billy Connolly
Bill Robinson: Dylan Baker
Timmy Robinson: K’Sun Ray
Mr. Theopolis: Tim Blake Nelson

Bill Robinson: I'd say I'm a pretty darn good father. My father tried to eat me, I don't remember trying to eat Timmy.
Helen Robinson: Bill, just because your father tried to eat you, does that mean we all have to be unhappy... forever?