Movie Review - Memento

After watching the movie 'Memento' today I noticed that the main character was a psycho. That is a simple way I put it. Lenny, the protagonist, is an insurance investigator whose wife died in the movie. Memento was a roller coaster of a film. I felt confused on some parts since the storyline went backwards instead of the usual forwards and the director included some very shady characters. One was named John Edward Gammel, also known as Teddy. Teddy played a key role in Memento. He was a undercover cop whose sole purpose was to help Lenny find the murderer and solve the case of the murdered wife. It is not shown very clearly if Teddy was an "actual" cop or just a close friend of Lenny's so that adds a twist to the story. Lenny has only photographs and his tattoos to rely on throughout the movie. They seem to be his "cold hard facts" that only he strictly trusts. He has multiple tattoos on his arms, thighs, and torso reminding him of what happened to his wife and the clues that are bound to him forever. He has to do these reminders to continue on in his daily life, so he can remember to do simple tasks like shaving his legs or getting a new tattoo. Lenny is very cautious with people in general. Based on his judgement on them, he takes a picture and rights a little note on it of what Lenny believes that person is like. This helps him determine who is his friend or who is his foe throughout the movie. Eventually he finds out that this way of living has a flaw. During a scene on the movie while Lenny is on the phone talking to the unmentioned stranger he discovers a note hidden beneath some sort of cloth material that tells Lenny "not to answer the phone". Lenny hasn't completely lost his memory. In the movie Lenny remembers everything that happened before his wife was killed, but sadly he doesn't have any solid proof that can confirm it. Teddy tries to explain to Lenny that his wife was diabetic, but Lenny can clearly remember her not being diabetic. Lenny, towards the ending of the movie, writes a note on the back of a photograph of Teddy's saying "do not believe his lies". A reoccurring theme throughout the movie are lies. Due to Lenny's condition, he cannot fend for himself since he forgets what happens every other five minutes, making him a prey for manipulative people. Another notable character who uses Lenny in this movie is named Natalie. In the beginning she seems like a honest and genuinely nice person towards Lenny. She asks Lenny for a favor and in return she'd give Lenny a big clue in finding this criminal. Natalie wants a man named Dodd killed, so she tries bribing Lenny with a big amount money and Teddy's ID and automobile information. One scene of the movie Teddy and Lenny are in the car disputing about Natalie. Teddy just warns Lenny by telling him to write down a note saying, "Do not trust her". At that point I clearly knew Natalie was using Lenny for her own benefit; to get rid of someone Natalie's boyfriend owed money to. I have seemed to have forgotten to mention another popular character in the movie. His name was Jimmy Grantz, boyfriend of Natalie. Jimmy was a drug dealer who was being pressured to pay up to Dodd. Jimmy finds himself in an abandoned house towards the end of the movie with Lenny. Lenny then forcefully attacks Jimmy eventually killing him. Teddy arrives shortly after only to find Jimmy's lifeless body and Lenny in the middle of the scene. What I soon figured out is that Teddy manipulated both Jimmy and Lenny. Teddy just wanted Jimmy's money so he can profit off of it. Teddy and Natalie aren't the only ones taking advantage of Lenny's condition. The motel guy, Burt, secretly rents out more than one room at the same time for Lenny, without even explaining. All in all, this movie's theme can be interpreted several different ways. The easily noticeable one is revenge and how far people can go if fueled by revenge. Another is manipulation and you should never believe everyone else, and also to some extent, yourself.

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