Memento

So my friend passed me an electronic version of this film. A pity that this amazing film is nowhere to be found in Singapore. If I could get it, I would. Was almost going to have this prized possession from my sis before she get back from USA, but unfortunately she had to come back early and there goes my online shopping.

Why is this film among my favourites? I don't believe there is any intelligent crime thriller that even comes close to this. Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects is second to this and also very entertaining and enjoyable, but Nolan's Memento is almost unsurpassable.

It is about how a man who suffers from memory loss (he can only remember the last few minutes of his life) uses notes and tattoos (thus, memento) to find the one who raped and murdered his wife. Lots of unexpected twists that have become Nolan's trademark. This is one director that is able to anticipate audience reaction and thinking and almost manipulates his films is such a way that the audience, no matter how seasoned or smart, cannot guess his plot. Watching it for the second time reveals very little plot inconsistencies despite the highly intricate structure of time-chronology. Above all, an amazing movie experience that reveals more and more as the movie progresses. Things aren't so simple.

Perhaps my experience of watching The Dark Knight is aggravated by my extremely high expectation of what Nolan can do, after watching a series of immensely satisfying movies like Begins, Prestige and Memento. And which is why I don't get how The Dark Knight became no. 3 on IMDB top 250 movies. Sure it was a great movie, but surely it was nowhere near Memento! And surely it is nowhere near a lot of other films over the years as well.