Analysis Of The Film Memento

use the cinematography to add to the movies message. Throughout the film, the directors keep a main

Christopher Nolan’s neo noir thriller film, Memento (2000), follows the life of the protagonist, Leonard Shelby, as he searches for the person who murdered his wife, whilst dealing with anterograde amnesia, forcing him to use “memento’s” to retain new memories. Through the employment of mise-en-scène and sound design, the central theme of ‘the pursuit of vengeance’ could be conveyed. Additionally, the theme ‘the fragility of memory’, is illustrated to the viewer through cinematography and editing. These techniques and themes are most evident in the dramatic final sequence in the film, specifically when Leonard finally gets revenge and Teddy unveils the truth about John G to him.

The vision Christopher Nolan had for The Prestige (2006) was to add to the outbreak of street magician film, whilst playing a large dramatic subplot equal in grandeur to the magical performances within the film. In the final sequence of the film, I will analyse how the cinematography and sound resolves the plot so that it summarises the themes present in the film, whilst also invoking a response from the audience. Nolan predominantly uses close up shots, non-diegetic sound (music) and dialogue collaboratively to convey the dramatic, personal subplot of the characters and their relationships, whilst appealing to the audience bringing forth an emotional response from the audience. The heavy, slow, dramatic atmosphere of the ending sequence uses various techniques to summarise and uncover the underlying mysteries of the events throughout the film and consolidate themes introduced during the exposition.

SS General Reinhard Heydrich was in charge of the “Reich security” and appointed to lead the infamous Wannsee Conference. This conference featured many established leaders in the Nazi Party, SS, and German government and gets its name from the location of the meeting, a wealthy German suburb. The purpose of this conference was to inform the slightly lower ranking German leaders of the “Final Solution” to the ‘Jewish question.’ The movie Conspiracy focuses on the Wannsee Conference and shows the influence on many of the aforementioned leaders. Kenneth Branagh, the actor that portrays Heydrich, is able to successfully imitate his commanding presence throughout the film with his use of body language and tone. From the opening scene of the

In the movie, See What I’m Saying, there are three Deaf men and one Hard of Hearing women. Their names are: Robert DeMayo, TL Forsberg. Bob Hiltermann and C.J Jones. Through out the movie, each person shows us a glimpse of their lives and what they have to deal with on a daily basis. See What I’m Saying shines a light on the oppressive behaviors within the performing arts industry and within mainstream media, and how these four individuals must navigate through their lives as performing artist.

Dementia is an impairment of thinking and memory that interferes with a person’s ability to do things which he or she previously was able to do (Nehan-Babalola 64). In the United States, there are an estimated 24 million people with dementia (Nehan-Babalola 64). With there being this many person in the United States with this disease, there are sill many who do not know much about it. Today, dementia is one of the main causes of disability later in life (Nehan-Babalola 64). It is important that everybody know about it so that if a loved one becomes diagnosed with it that they will know how to deal with it.

The first scene we see in Memento, is Leonard, in color holding up photo of a man he just killed to serve as a memory of what he had done. Throughout the film, both in color and in black and white, we see various forms of memories Leonard has manufactured such as photographs of people, notes, and tattoos on his body. Christopher Nolan does a good job of utilizing this mise en scene and timeline structure to help influence our perspective of characters like Natalie, Leonard and Teddy.

The directors chosen camera technique, a simple two composition that progresses the scene a steady pace, forces the audience to feel a part of the awkward exchange; obviously, a quality of film that could not be as profoundly achieved through the narrative in the novel.

Lawrence’s use of cinematography emphasizes the complexity of human interactions when faced with a responsibility of making a morally acceptable decision. The establishing and aerial shots of the ominous landscape highlight the desolate country town and its crucial role in the interpersonal dynamics. Scenes begin with close-up and mid-shots of main characters, introducing viewers to reliable figures and allowing them to focus on the interaction between the characters. Lawrence’s use of close-up shots enables viewers to understand the characters emotions, allowing them to feel empathy for the character. Moreover, Susan’s body is cut at a high angle, forcing the audience to see her as the small, powerless victim in comparison to Park who is shot from a low angle, further exploring the complexity of relationships between races and genders.

Nolan made the movie in reverse chronological order. This was done this way so the audience could connect more with the character Leonard. For example, in the beginning of Memento we start off with Leonard holding a photograph in his hand of what looks to be the murder of Teddy, as he flicks the photo back and fourth the picture slowly fades away turning the photo pitch black, soon you begin to realize that everything is being reversed and then we switch to a black and white scene of Leonard going over how he got in a motel room. Those specific scene edits automatically make the

The black background surrounding Leonard’s head represents his severe inner hatred for the unjustified world, especially for the supposed rapist who ruthlessly raped his own wife. Furthermore, it also justifies the only reason he continues to persevere on with life is due to his individual motivation to continue searching for John G. in order to bring back for his wife. As a result of Leonard’s abhorrence for the murderer who caused the formation of his anterograde amnesia and others who have used him for ulterior advantages, he is incapable of perceiving the positivity aspects of life.

The way this movie messes with time in the past is not new. Pulp Fiction did it, and many other movies did, but never like the way Memento has chosen to work it. The movie is broken up into individual segments, and each one ends where the one before it began. This is confusing, but it does not take long to understand how the story is going to be told. Nolan wants the audience to feel what it is like when you cannot make any new memories and cannot trust anyone. That is what Nolan accomplish, the audience feels like they are in Leonard’s shoes. This method Nolan uses creates an amount of tension and suspense. The audience knows what happened, but now they want to know why it happened. We learn the bits Leonard forgets. Nolan created a unique movie, blending color and black and white images and with this technique of filmmaking. It is truly original; the audience will feel just as confused and lost as Leonard when each scene begins.

Although many people know Christopher Nolan for his more recent films “The Prestige”, “Dark Knight Trilogy”, “Interstellar”, “Inception”, and now most recently the war film “Dunkirk”. Although each of these films are amazing we should never forget one of Christopher Nolan’s first great directed films “Memento.” Memento is a uniquely structured psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Christopher Nolan is an English film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the highest-grossing directors in history and among the most acclaimed filmmakers of all time. He made his directorial debut with the “Following” in 1998 Christopher Nolan has continued to turn out great movies that have received multiple Academy Award nomination. He found further popular and critical success with The Dark Knight Trilogy beginning in 2005 and Inception in 2010, which received eight Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. He has produced and directed several other notable films and his films have grossed over four billion dollars worldwide and garnered a total of 26 Oscar nominations and 7 wins. The Screenplay was written by Cristopher Nolan himself and his brother Jonathan Nolan who has co-written several films with Nolan r over the years and has produced and created several films and tv shows. He is most known for being the creator of television series Person of Interest and Co-creator of Westworld. The film was

In “The Departed”, which takes place in South Boston, State Police are tasked with bringing an end to Irish American organized crime. One of the stars of the movie is the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays undercover cop Billy Costigan. The cast is packed with high demand actors; one of them being Irish mob boss, Jack Nicholson, playing Frank Costello. Costigans counterpart is Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon. Both men just-graduated from Massachusetts State Police Academy; Sullivan is on the side of the mob, and joined the police force to be an informer for the mob boss. There is a key interplay between each man, and the people they are trying to deceive. The stakes are high, as each operative becomes entrenched in their double life,

The film “The Prestige” is one of many masterful Nolan films that walks the line between being a meta film about the film industry, and being focused on immersing the audience in the actual content of the film. At a close inspection, comparisons to the film industry can be seen, but they are not so obvious to distract the audience from the central conflicts that are at the forefront of the film. The subject of the film could most easily be defined as surrounding the topics of obsession or fame. More specifically, the obsession of fame, and the illusion of happiness that fame projects. The main characters of the movie both urn for the fame of being the world’s most successful entertainer, even if for different reasons.