BIG'S BIG MOVIE LIST

     The idea of subverting reality is an enticing concept to many. The Matrix exploded into popularity largely because of its overarching idea that "there is no spoon". It opened the minds of millions of people (some more than others) and sparked a cultural phenomenon (I have met more than one set of parents that have named their daughter "Trinity" solely based on Carrie Anne Moss's character of the same name, and I'm not even referring to Ricky's daughter on "The Trailer Park Boys").

    Some want to believe that there is more than the immediate, that the government lies to us, that "the truth is out there", all under the guise of simply wanting more than what is available to the senses, a desire to see "through the looking glass".

 
The idea of a world under the surface is certainly an intriguing one, but imagine if reality was a foreign concept to you? what if you knew that nothing meant anything and your only way to hold onto any semblance of fact was to constantly remind yourself. What if, in that chaos, you discover that the reality you've been striving for so dearly has been false all along? Would you accept that, or would you simply reframe your concept of reality?

I should've seen Christopher Nolan's "Memento" years ago. I feel like im going to be saying that about movies more and more as this exercise progresses. This film is a cerebral labyrinth that the viewer traverses from Finish to Start (thats right). In an interesting style that I had never seen before (and had been described to me many times in the past, now that i think of it), the film actually begins at the end, and the events unfold in reverse order (not in reverse/rewind, that would make an awful film).

     Our main character Leonard (Guy Pearce) has suffered a trauma that has left him with short term memory loss. What this means is he has all of his memories up to the time of his trauma, but he has been unable to form new memories since then. If he does not record the important facts that he observes, they are lost to him forever (he does so through a system of polaroids, written notes, and tattoos of the important things). This forces him to explain his condition to everyone he meets, even if they've met before, because to him he is always meeting those people for the first time.

The less scrupulous people in his life take advantage of his disability, and they tell him to his face, because they know that he will just forget the transgression in the end. Against all odds and reason, Leonard works with his "friend" Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and local bartender Natalie (Carrie Anne Moss) to track down and kill "John G.", the man that raped and murdered his wife, injuring him in the struggle and causing his disability.

 

Pardon my language, but this movie is a real mindfudger. The audience is forced to adapt to Nolan's nontraditional reverse storyline and step into the world of a man with no memory, a journey that takes some getting used to initially. Being that the movie begins with its ending scene, much information that is given to the audience makes little sense at first, but given enough time everything starts to come together. Leonard's system of keeping records is literally his only means of establishing facts, and even these facts are perceived through the cracked lens of a brain damaged man.

 

Carrie Anne Moss doesn't do this movie any favors, however. I wasn't wild about her in “The Matrix” overall, and her role in “Red Planet” was highly forgettable. This movie isn't much of an exception. It could be one man's bias, but she just doesn't do it for me.

My brain was twisted into such a knot that by the end (which was technically the beginning) I wasn't even completely sure of what the audience had been told was truly “real”, an unsatisfying sensation that feels like it was Nolan's objective all along. All in all, the novelty of the films concept coupled with a strong cast and a well executed story make for a deserved spot on the top 250