Film Structure of Memento

Christopher Nolan used ways to put his film together that seem like the film is going completely in reverse order. But this is not actually the case. There are two sequences of scenes. The film consists of scenes that are in black and white and in color. The black and white scenes are in chronological order. The color scenes are in reverse order. So while these two sequences are progressing and regressing, they meet up in the end of the film. The only scene that is literally playing backwards is in the very beginning. All of the scenes that are in color show the main characters investigation which is supported by tattoos, notes, and Polaroids.

The main character Leonard is not able to retain any short term memories, which makes it more difficult for him to hunt down the killer of his wife. Nolan reinforces this idea by consistently showing the main character using ways to help remember things such as taking pictures of people and leaving notes for himself as well tattooing. The main character does not have a loss of his identity; therefore he does not suffer from amnesia, just short term memory loss. He meets people throughout the film and states that he knows who he is.

The structure of the film is different than other films because it uses a combination of two sequences at the same time. On goes in order chronologically in black and white, while the other goes backwards in color. These are necessary because it is a great way to show the elements of someone going through short term memory loss. It helps bring the audience closer to this condition by having us actually feel what the person is going through by having the sequences out of order. This is different than the majority of other films because they usually keep the order of the film chronological. Even in movies that do take place in backwards order, they do not incorporate the chronological order of events in as well.

Compared to other films, this film was a bit more confusing, especially on the first watch. It is hard to understand the significance of the black and white versus the color as well as the significance of his memory loss and the ways that he tries to remember things. Another confusing aspect of the film is the whole hunt of a killer; it is hard enough to follow a story with an unknown killer with a plot that moves in chronological order. It adds a deeper element when the main character cannot remember short term memories. It also adds a level of confusion when the director makes the structure and form o the film reflect this illness so that we have a fist hand look at what the main character is going g through.

As far as sequencing, Nolan could have added elements of the movie that did a little more foreshadowing so that we had some hints of what to expect next. Although with the nature of the film, and its backwards nature, it is kind of hard to suggest any other changes that Nolan could have tone to make it easier to understand without changing the theme and structure of the entire film. With that being said, Nolan's goal and intentions of what he wanted to do with film, he accomplished his goal using the techniques shown in the film.

A change in sequence would definitely alter or diminish the movie and is overall theme. Looking at the films structure on a larger level, there are two main sequences, the black and white versus the color. If either of these two elements had changed, then the whole movie would have been altered according to theme and structure and Nolan would have lost his whole idea for the film.