Memento: Visual Essay

Memento:

• Is a psycho-thriller • Directed by: Christopher Nolan• Won lot of prizes e.g. AFI-Award, MTV

Music Award• Main Character: Leonard (Guy Pierce)• Main topics: Memories, death, revenge

Sound

• In this point the music gets over a maximum and ebb away• Music gets my attention in this point because it is

unexpected• Maybe you should have attention to the screen because

something important will happen• Music is non-diagetic• subliminal

Cinematography

• Very impressive scene when the blood flows the walls UP instead of down what would be normal

• The Blood stands for violence • Really realistic

Cinematography

• Extrem Close up• It gives you an idea what is the sense of the

introducing scene • Nolan wants to give the audience a sense what will

happen in the film• It also has the effect that you have a heebie-jeebie

Editing

• Extreme Close up on the picture• Picture develops back; really realistic• Contrast to the writing in the foreground

Editing

• Close up to picture what goes back in the camera• Beacause it goes backward it is another evidence

how the film will work• It looks like summer but one of the colder days

(don’t know whether this is important)

Setting

• The scene take place in an old storehouse I think or in a given up company

• No one may see this of course it is a murder but I think this is an act of revenge

• Medium shot to Leo

Character

• Main Character: Leonard Shelby• He looks traumatised and a bit sad but also• Pleased• Psychologically disordered (like always in

Christopher Nolan’s films is one mentally disordered)

Narrative

• You see at first this photo of a dead body in front of a tiled now bloody wall

• Then someone makes a photo and you see the main character Leo

• He shoots the man who actually were the dead body

Titles

• Titles are written in clear big blue letters in the centre of the screen

• It is really obvious that you should see at the title• You don’t know what is expecting you• It is not really inspireing

Conclusion

• Memento’s opening sequence fullfills the Thriller-Cliché

• It arouses pressure • You get introduced to the Main character• The sound is very suitable • It is darker than outside• The audience’ attention is sure now