Momento

"How can I heal if I can't feel time?"  That's what Leonard had said and reigns so true for so many things with the usual stance of time heals all things.  What a chaotic way to live life. 

From a cinematic view, the editing sequences throughout this film were phenominal.  Although, hard to follow and certainly kept the audience guessing on what was real and what wasn't, it was the story as a whole told backwards.  I didn't feel any parts of the story were long and boring, initially was hard to follow as like Leonard referred to repetition being key to memory, the repetition of showing the same clips in the beginning was confusing until it was then laid out to how the story would be told.  The editing was clearly effective and did guide me through the necessary associations and emotional responses smoothly.  There are still some unanswered questions but I'm guessing I just didn't get them watching it the first time.

The film was cerainly cinematic as the film had continuous motion.  The scenes flowed with rhythm and fluidity.  They used the close ups with the needle for the diabetic injections and the redness around the tattoos and how the one was backwards so you'd have to look in the mirror to read it.  The transitions were smooth and kept the audience always guessing what would be next.

The cinematic points of view were all included.  We were observers throughout the movie, but we also had a subjective and an indirect-subjective viewpoint like with the needle being injected.  They had close ups of Leonard giving us an interpretive viewpoint as well as with Teddy.   In the bar scene, when they had the people spit in the cup, they focused on the cup and then again when they gave that cup to Leonard to drink out of testing his ability to remember what just happened.  The cackling from the older gentleman that spit first then was understood because when the scene played the first time, I didn't know what was funny about it.  The assumption was made that a drug or something was put in the drink.

The film used the extreme close-up as well as background in motion, foreground framing and the menacing frame throughout the movie.  When the guy would sit in his chair with the camera on him, but his wife was in the background feeling completely in awe of what she was gaining clarity on that her husband truly didn't remember.  Lighting was used appropriately and did not overshadow the characters.

The coloring in the movie was subtle but went between color and black and white.  When flashbacks were used, the color change was used to go from current to past to keep the audience aware of what was going on.  They also used a blue theme throughout with the sign on the motel, the motel key, the shirt he wore and the paint on the wall in the bathroom. 

The movie seemed to be filmed mostly in the studio but the setting was secondary to the actors and didn't over shadow them.  I felt the main factor in this film was customs, moral attitudes and codes of behavior. 

Costume and make up design played a role in the film with its little marks.  For example, the scratches on his face from the fight, and the red mark and cut on her face.  The placement of his tattoos were relevant to the story line.