Memento (R, 2001)

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) wakes up one night to find his wife missing from their bed. When he goes looking for her, he interrupts a man in the process of sexually assaulting her in the bathroom. Leonard suffers a blow to the head which destroys his short-term memory. The last thing he remembers is his wife dying, and he is bent on revenge. Without a short-term memory to guide him, Leonard relies on Polaroids, notes and daily tattoos to assist him in closing in on his wife's killer.

When first released in 2000, MEMENTO made quite a splash. The film's narrative is far from traditional, and the movie is definitely aimed at an audience with a high level of visual literacy. The story is relayed in fragments, echoing Leonard's experience of short-term memory loss. For many viewers, the film will be something of a head-scratcher, the kind of thing that bears a few repeat viewing and a lot of furrowed brows. Director Christopher Nolan's sparse style plays well here. The plot is complex enough on its own, and the film rests largely on the strong performances of the major characters.