Memento

    Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review

    Abstract

    Ambiguous, complex and innovative, Christopher Nolan's Memento has intrigued audiences and critics since the day of its release. Memento is the archetypal 'puzzle film', a noir thriller about a man with short-term memory loss seemingly seeking revenge for the death of his wife but finding it increasingly difficult to navigate through the facts. Truth, memory and identity are all questioned in a film that refuses to give easy answers or to adhere to some of the fundamental rules of classical filmmaking as the film makes use of some audacious stylistic and narrative choices, including a unique (for American cinema) editing pattern that produces a dizzying and highly disorienting effect for the spectator. The book introduces Memento as an important independent film and uses it to explore relationships between indie, arthouse and commercial mainstream cinema while also examining independent film marketing practices, especially those associated with Newmarket, the film's producer and distributor. Finally, the book also locates Memento within debates around key film studies concepts such as genre, narrative and reception.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationEdinburgh
    PublisherEdinburgh University Press
    Number of pages133
    ISBN (Print)9780748637720
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

    Publication series

    NameAmerican Indies

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