Memento

I.Intro

Memento is about a guy named Leonard who has lost his short term memory and is on the hunt for his wife’s killer while relying only on his notes in pictures, and tattoos.

II. Characteristics and Conventions of the Film that Link it to Classic Film Noir

1.                              Leonard plays the role of the detective in this film, even if he doesn’t wear a drench coat and a         fedora. He acts like one by going around asking questions and taking pictures while carrying a gun. He even talks like one, saying, “I got a lead on a place” (Memento).  Richard Armstrong argues in his article, Somewhere in the Night: Memento, that “Leonard Shelby is actually an anti-detective, not resolving a crime but implicating himself the more he investigates” (123). He investigates and that makes him the detective as he would be in classical noir but the fact that he doesn’t get anywhere makes him the anti-detective like Armstrong names him. 

2.                           The femme fatal is another attribute to classical noir and is present in this film. Natalie is the femme fatal who uses Leonard to her advantage. She is very well aware of his condition and uses him to get rid of a guy for her. She takes him over to her house trying to sound nice and helpful but soon she starts telling him how stupid he is, and when she starts talking about his wife, he smacks her across the face, leaving her a bloody lip. Before walking out of the house, she hides all the pens and he desperately looks for one to write down a note saying not to trust her. When she slams the door on her way back in, he has forgotten everything and she lies saying it was another guy, and Leonard offers to help.

III.Elements of the Film that Deviate from Classic Film Noir and Link it to Neo Noir

1.                         Memento provides the viewers with a non-linear narration with three types of scenes: color, black-and-white, and flashbacks. The color scenes are presented in reverse chronological order and the black-and-white ones are presented in normal chronological order. This first color scene, in reality is the last scene of the storyline. Following the first scene, is the first black-and-white scene which is the first scene of the storyline. Leonard has two sets of flashbacks that are shown in the film. One of them is the one that are shot twice. The flashbacks that are shown twice have meaningful differences. The other types of flashbacks are fantasy.

2.                        The protagonist, Leonard, suffers from anterograde amnesia like other neo-noir protagonists. In the attempt to save his wife from burglars, he got his head smashed against the bathroom mirror and that’s the last thing he remembers. In his article Somewhere in the Night: Memento, Armstrong states that, “Leonard descends from and essential strain of noir protagonist: damaged, confused and alone” (120). Leonard’s condition causes him confusion throughout the whole film and with people taking advantage of him, there is no doubt he is on his own.