MEMENTO the second feature by writer-director Christopher Nolan (FOLLOWING) is an intricately constructed film noir that masterfully inverts time to comment on the foggy relationship between memory & truth MEMENTO tells the story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) a former insurance investigator who witnesses a brutal attack on his wife Knocked unconscious Leonard wakes up with a rare brain condition--he no longer possesses short-term memory He can remember his name & all the details of his past but he can no longer make new memories Armed with a careful system of remembering details (he compulsively snaps Polaroids & scribbles notes then tattoos the important facts directly onto his body) the distraught Leonard goes on a manhunt to avenge his wife&s death To illustrate the unique & frightening state of the protagonist&s mind (he cannot remember what happened even seconds before) Nolan takes a brilliantly successful risk in telling the story backward The film begins with Leonard killing the man he&s looking for From there MEMENTO unravels a compellingly disconcerting trail back to the start As the layers of the story are peeled back scene by scene Leonard&s involvement with two enigmatic friends--who both claim to be helping him--complicates the mystery Based on a short story by the director&s brother Jonathan Nolan MEMENTO is an incredibly original film that is so wonderfully puzzling & eerily ambiguous that it will surely warrant repeated viewings