Memento

Memento Literary Elements

Director

Christopher Nolan

Leading Actors/Actresses

Guy Pearce

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Genre

Mystery, Thriller

Language

English

Awards

Date of Release

2000

Producer

Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd

Setting and Context

Present day 2000 in an undisclosed city, seemingly Los Angeles

Narrator and Point of View

Point of View is that of Leonard.

Tone and Mood

Mysterious, Suspenseful, Complicated

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Leonard. Antagonists are Teddy and Natalie.

Major Conflict

Leonard has lost his short-term memory and must figure out who killed his wife in order to get revenge, while also evading any manipulation from other people.

Climax

Leonard learns that he has already exacted his revenge and has been being used by Teddy and Natalie in order to help them kill people.

Foreshadowing

The gun at the beginning of the film foreshadows that there will be murder in the story.

Understatement

There are several moments of humorous understatement about Leonard's condition, such as when he tells the waiter he absolutely has to write down the directions he's giving.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

Allusions

Paradox

Leonard tells Sammy's wife that Sammy is physically capable of making new memories. He thought he was helping her, but paradoxically it caused her to have him give her an overdose of insulin as she wanted to prove that he could remember things when he couldn't. This in itself is also paradoxical because we learn at the end that Leonard has fused his own memories with the story of Sammy Jankis.

Parallelism

The abandoned building where Leonard kills Teddy is paralleled at the end of the film when we see Leonard and Teddy there after Leonard has killed the wrong man.