Christopher Nolan is currently busy tackling the atomic bomb, nuclear war, and a cast of thousands in his forthcoming epic Oppenheimer. But over twenty years ago, Nolan made a huge impression and fully broke into Hollywood as a respected writer-director with his sophomore feature – Memento. And it’s now available on Shudder UK.
2000’s Memento is an intricately structured neo-noir about a man who cannot form new memories (played by Guy Pearce) trying to solve his wife’s murder. He uses tattoos and Polaroids to try to jog his memory about important clues and information. There are two inter-cut narratives – a black-and-white timeline which runs chronologically and a colour one which runs in reverse. And you thought Tenet was a head-scratcher.
Christopher Nolan wrote the screenplay based on his brother Jonathan’s idea. Jonathan Nolan developed the idea into a short story called Memento Mori at the same time as Christopher was writing the screenplay. The film picked up substantial ‘buzz’ at Venice, Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals. Jonathan Nolan designed the film’s website, inspired by the marketing for the Blair Witch Project, and Christopher Nolan edited the trailers himself.
Christopher Nolan had only directed three movies when he got the gig to make the Dark Knight Trilogy. While making the three Batman movies, he also directed The Prestige and Inception – two of his most highly acclaimed films. His two most recent movies have been the war movie Dunkirk and the time-travel mindbender Tenet. Nolan is a huge proponent of IMAX and the big-screen theatrical experience in general.
Oppenheimer is still seven months away from release, but it has already had teaser trailers and theatre standees for some time, which are counting down the minutes to release. Like James Cameron, Christopher Nolan makes “event” movies, and the buzz is being generated months in advance.
If you haven’t seen Nolan’s masterful LA noir Memento, you’re in for a real treat. Check out our guide to the best detective movies.