Despite not having an impressive film degree, Christopher Nolan has awed us with his complex narrative and unconventional storytelling. Each of his films (save for the Dark Knight trilogy) is like a jigsaw puzzle with a thousand pieces that will eventually complete itself and then jumble again before you could have a grasp of the bigger picture... then you'll have to watch it again to fully understand.
Memento, for that matter, is one of Nolan's earliest chronologically puzzling masterpieces. It's mostly a simple crime and revenge story involving a protagonist with anterograde amnesia (short-term memory loss) but told backward. At times it can even be more perplexing than Inception or more alienating than Interstellar. So to make it seem less complicated, we present you the best of internet culture-- memes! You can count on them to make fun of the movie to alleviate that throbbing forehead vein from overthinking.
FOR YOUR REGULAR VIEWING PLEASURE...
In all respects, Memento is simply a thriller movie made thrilling because of the reversed progression of the story. It's arguably what made the movie a lot more compelling and poetic, especially with all the foreshadowing the main character Leonard Shelby (Guy Pierce) drops all throughout the movie.
Upon finishing one heck of brain twister film, you're probably going to want to watch it again because that's one of the few ways it would make more sense to you. When you think about it, this makes Nolan a financial genius as well; people back then might have had to go see the movie twice in the cinema, that could easily double the box office earnings.
FINDING DORY CROSSOVER PLEASE
Of course, Memento's reverse storytelling wouldn't work without an important plot device. That is Leonard Shelby's short-term memory loss. He can't create new memories, since he can only remember them for five minutes until his brain "resets." It's quite similar to Dory's condition in the Pixar film Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo.
Consequently, his short-term memory loss also makes Leonard quite a volatile friend and person. Leonard frequently questions everyone and everything in the film even with his mementos to help him remember. As a result, he is also easily manipulated because of his condition and easily tricked into doing bad or violent things.
THE UNIVERSAL THRONE OF LIES TEMPLATE
Replace that legendary game developer with pretty much just about any celebrity with a penchant for lying and you got yourself a universal meme template. We have Christopher Nolan's meme-able movie to thank for that. As for the context of the film, Leonard, if you can recall, has to keep mementos of people and their motivations in order to be somewhat functional as a person.
He does this with polaroid photos of people whom he marks as his friends or enemies especially once he got to know them. This is so he'll know what to do with them despite his short-term memory loss. Too bad his mementos only work half the time-- but at least it gave birth to some dank memes.
MEMENTO=DRUGS
Along with Inception, Memento might actually be one of Nolan's most "trippy" movies where everything feels surreal as you're watching it. The way you have to orient your mind in keeping track of the film's events is a heck of brain exercise.
After seeing it once and for the first time, you'll most likely end up feeling like you downed a wine bottle straight from the nozzle or took something stronger than alcohol. Once the credits roll, you'll spend the next 30 minutes or so trying to comprehend what just happened and why did Nolan do that to you.
ALDRICH KILLIAN, IS THAT YOU?
Whoever made this meme probably knew the actor Guy Pierce and his other role, particularly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you don't recognize him (maybe because you have amnesia), Pierce actually played Aldrich Killian, the main protagonist in Iron Man 3.
To be fair, it was a forgettable role since most fans expected the Mandarin, but he was there nonetheless. Even so, it was probably a role he would have wanted many people to forget. By contrast, his character as Killian in the MCU has a pretty strong memory.
MUST BE A COOL FRIEND
Despite being a difficult man to get along with, Leonard Shelby still somehow has friends. Teddy was notably one of them, though the way he used Leonard reeks of moral corruption. He actually manipulated Leonard's condition to control Leonard like his very own hitman.
In any case, when Leonard's not killing anyone he thought murdered his wife, the banter between him and Teddy was probably funny. Teddy could keep telling the same jokes every five minutes and there would never be a moment of awkward silence.
MORE LIKE HATE MAIL IN THIS CASE
One of the most iconic things Leonard did to himself as a memento is to tattoo vital information about his goals all over his body. They were also written in reverse for mirror viewing. This way, all he had to do to remember everything that happened after he was afflicted with his condition was to look at his topless body in the mirror.
Oh, and it probably inspired a lot of people to also get their own full-body tattoo with less crucial words. This meme pokes fun at how Leonard basically writes letters or reminders to his future self (his very near future self). In his case, however, they're more like a to-do list with a dash of vengeance.
GUY PIERCE WORE IT BETTER, C'MON
Speaking of people who get full-body tattoos with symbols that don't really mean much to them, well, here's one. Sorry Maroon 5 fans, but what the heck is Adam Levine trying to tell the world with his tats by combining California with Sanskrit? At least Leonard Shelby did it with purpose... albeit with creepier intent.
It was basically Leonard's whole game plan for getting back at the person who violated and murdered his wife and also gave him the bad case of amnesia. Well, to Levine's credit, at least he doesn't look like he's about to kill someone nor does he belong in an asylum.
RIGHT... WHERE WERE WE?
Don't you just hate it when you only have five minutes every day to do things before you have to do them all over again? It's a lot worse than what happened to Drew Barrymore in Fifty First Dates; Leonard Shelby is basically Dory (perhaps even worse) but more psychotic and murderous.
Even when he has to kill or hurt someone, he tends to forget about it every five minutes. This also happens during Leonard's acts of violence in the movies where he suddenly forgets what he's supposed to do with the person he's been beating up for the last five minutes. Oddly enough, it's darkly humorous and gives Memento its own unique charm.
AN OLD MEME FROM A FORGOTTEN ERA
Memento is one of those thriller movies that only come once in a blue moon due to how original it was. The non-linear story was ahead of its time and even neuroscientists praised the film for how it portrayed anterograde amnesia. The fact that it was released back in the year 2000 made it even more astonishing.
As it is, there's a remake on the way but whoever's doing it appears to be taking their time (of course they should). There have been similar films from Bollywood such as Amir Khan's Ghajini which basically had the same premise if you're interested in more films like Memento. However, other than the planned remake, not many films can compare to the mindbending elaborate structure of Memento.