*** Official "MEMENTO" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Ross Williams]

Jimmy knows Leonard, he says something to the effect of "Hey memory man, what are you doing here? Where's Teddy?" I think before Leonard even says anything. Then when Leonard is killing Jimmy he says something about Sammy Jenkins and Leonard knows he's just killed the wrong man.
When Leonard shows up at the bar, Natalie says something like, "Oh, you're that memory guy."
I guess Leonard must have been hanging out with Teddy while he and Jimmy were setting up their drug deal.

 

[LarryDavenport]

So is Memento only going to be showing at a few theaters and then die a quick death or is it going to open wide and be the huge hit it deserves to be?
I am dissapointed that this thread is dying because I don't hink a film has been worth discussing this much since Fight Club.
Payday is Tuesday and I will be heading back to the theater to see Memento again before it dissapears.
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I have a fever! A fever for more cowbell!!! - C. Walken

 

[Ugo Scarlata]

So is Memento only going to be showing at a few theaters and then die a quick death or is it going to open wide and be the huge hit it deserves to be?

Memento has been in circulation worldwide since September, and it is being distributed independently by Newmarket. As an independent distributor, Newmarket does not have the resources to distribute ~3,000 prints throughout North America (which is a typical "wide" Hollywood release.)
I also don't think that Memento stands a chance of getting any Oscar nominations. When was the last time that a truly independent film was recognized by the A.M.P.A.S.? Even smaller films like You Can Count on Me, Pollock, etc... were not truly independent films.
It has been 7 months (!) since I first saw this film, so my memory is more than a little rusty... But I distinctly remember leaving the movie convinced that Natalie did not know "Teddy" personally. She only knew that her boyfriend was supposed to meet with someone named Teddy, the night he never came back. She then realized that Leonard must have been involved with Teddy and the murder of her boyfriend, after seeing him driving her boyfriend's car and wearing his clothes. This prompted her to use Leonard in order to get Dodd off her back: Her drug dealer boyfriend obviously owed Dodd money, before being murdered, and now Dodd was after her.
Other than that, I agree with the theory that the Sammy Jankis being described by Leonard throughout the film -- while on the phone with Teddy -- was actually Leonard himself: He unwittingly murdered his diabetic wife by giving her too many insulin injections. He then chose to selectively forget about certain aspects of his life prior to the attack (i.e.: he did not even remember that his wife was diabetic.) I'm pretty sure that *everything* Teddy tells Leonard toward the end of the film, in the abandoned building, is indeed true.
One of the things that Teddy tells him, in that revealing scene, is that the real Sammy Jankis was in fact a con man, and that Leonard called Sammy's bluff. The real Sammy Jankis was never hospitalized: the black & white footage of Sammy Jankis in the hospital is actually footage of Leonard. That is why we can see Leonard taking the place of Sammy for a few frames, as previously mentioned in this thread...
Definitely an ingenious and interesting film, more so than The Sixth Sense or Fight Club... but I have seen better films in the past year. (Sorry)

Cheers,
-Ugo
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[ http://scarlata.it/dvd

 

[Jon G.]

Finally saw this movie and have a few questions (of course).
Did anyone else notice that the gun that Leonard gets from Dodd appears to be the same exact gun Leonard gets out of his closet when his wife is being raped? Did I invent this or is there something more there, suggesting that somehow Dodd was involved?
I'm also bothered by the last shot with the I Did It tatoo on his chest. Does anyone buy this scenario: Leonard's wife was raped, survived the attack, Teddy helps Leonard find and kill the escaped rapist (he smiles and points to the area on his chest to tatoo "I Did It" and Teddy takes a photo), Leonard goes back to his wife, gets the I Did It tatoo, they celebrate and take that final photograph, later she gives him the insulin test and he gets the "I Did It" tatoo removed?

 

[Brett_B]

Joe G.

You wrote:

he smiles and points to the area on his chest to tatoo "I Did It" and Teddy takes a photo

I found the picture of the polaroid taken by Teddy on the official website and I do not see the words "I Did It" anywhere. I just appears that he is pointing to his chest (or basically to himself).

Does anyone know for sure if there was a tattoo of "I Did It" on his chest during the flashback scene which only lasted about a second or two? I do remember seeing tattoos, but not that one.

Brett B.

 

[Jon G.]

Brett,
I didn't mean that he had the "I did it" tatoo on his chest, just that he was pointing to the area where he would get "I did it" tatooed. I'm 99% positive that in the final polaroid of Leonard and his wife, he had "I did it" tatooed on his chest.

 

[MichaelPe]

Link Removed is the scene you are referring to (with "I've done it" on his chest).

 

[Brett_B]

Michael,
Thanks for the picture. Where did you find that or don't I want to know? If you can't tell me, could you put a picture of the scene with Leonard and his wife at the end of the movie (Leonard laying on the bed with his wife and she is looking at his tattoos).
Thanks
Brett B.

 

[Tino]

I just wanted to add to the deservedly great praise this excellent film is receiving.
Memento is currently my favorite film of 2001 and the upcoming films that I am looking forward to are going to have a hard time replacing it.
I wish them luck.
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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I dunno if this has been touched upon or not, but from one of Ebert's latest Q&As, Joe Pantoliano allegedly told a radio show host that:Spoiler:Sammy Jenkis did not exist at all, that he was a complete construct of Lenny's mind to shift guilt,etc. Food for thought.
Todd.
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"He'll flip you, flip you for real."

 

[Matt Stone]

Yah...for the most part we've all come to that conclusion.
I just can't wait to see it again. Hell of a film.
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[Seth Paxton]

Todd, thanks for that info.
I think I said before that I sort of suspected that, but if I didn't say it here before trust me when I say I left the film thinking that from the way things began to break down at the end and the dialog from Joe near the end.
Just the way they show the flashbacks, etc. Plus Pearce's understanding of how he could train himself.
I think others have said that he may represent a "before" to Lenny's "after", all within Lenny. I would agree with that at this point.
Jesus is this a great flick. So entertaining and yet thought provoking at the same time. Just thinking about the emotions Lenny was dealing with is enough to keep some coffee talk going for a few hours. Let alone any real "facts".

 

[JohanK]

Just saw this recently and enjoyed it...really good movie, IMO.

One question though... What will Leonard do now, after another John G.(Teddy) is dead? He has all these facts tattooed on his body, including the one with Teddy's license plate number. If he starts all over again, won't that tattoo confuse him, as there won't be anybody else with the same license plate number? Or will he alter or cover up his tattoos, as some people have suggested?

He has the pic of a dead John G (Teddy) so he will know his revenge has occurred.
I follow the thoughts of many earlier posters: Sammy was an insurance fraud case, Leonard's wife was raped, Leonard suffers from condition, Leonard accidentally kills his wife, Leonard displaces his own pain by creating Sammy's story, Teddy uses Leonard to get rid of Jimmy, Natalie uses Leonard to get rid of Dodd and then Teddy, Leonard kills Teddy or John G, Leonard is now Natalie's 'killer'.
For some reason I thought the quick shot with the 'I DID IT' tattoo to be of Leonard in bed with Natalie. I need to see the movie again.
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[Brett_B]

JohanK,
You wrote:

For some reason I thought the quick shot with the 'I DID IT' tattoo to be of Leonard in bed with Natalie. I need to see the movie again.

I saw this scene for a third time (I specifically went into the movie just to see this one scene). It was definitely Leonard and his wife, not Natalie, and the tatoo read, "I've Done It".
Brett B.

 

[JohanK]

Thanks Brett. I checked the link to the picture of the scene and it is also in color. This suggests that the scene occured after the B&W phone call conversations. Does this make sense?
Is it possible that Leonard's wife was not killed at all but Leonard believes this to be true? Maybe Leonard escapes from a mental institution (wasn't this mentioned?) and Teddy finds him and uses him. Later, he is reunited with his wife (after he kills Teddy); hence, the frame with the I've Done It tattoo.
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[Matt Stone]

No...hehe
Lenny killed his wife by giving her too many insulin injections...just as the Sammy Jankis story went...then after the hoopla of the story, he saw an idealized version of life in his head, with him laying in bed with his wife. This wasn't realy...imo, just his imagination...otherwise, he would have been looking into the future.
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[rollo]

Loved the movie -- it's creativity is exhilirating!
I went to the memento flash site and invetigated the links on the newspapaer page. Under the "photographs" link there are several people not in the movie --choam, miguel, mark, etc. Any ideas what this is about? Will there be a sequel?

 

[Patrick Wilmes]

Saw this Monday.Really cool flick.My only problem is with Jimmy.When he knows Leonard and the viewer has never seen these two people meet it's almost like some scenes are missing.I know the director wants you to see it again and figure this out for yourself but I would rather not fill in holes with my own interpretation of what happened(kinda like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction).It's like spending two hours putting a puzzle together and finding out at the end there is a piece missing.You know what the puzzle piece looks like but you'll never be sure because it's lost.
I do hope it gets nominated come oscar time but if it does it may severely delay the DVD release.It will probaly get re-released after it's initial run sometime in Nov-Dec. and will await home release pending the oscar results.
I have a very cool idea for the dvd release.Let me know what you think:
Have a 2 disk set with the original cut of the film plus a begining to end version(not backwards)also included.I know it would not have much of an impact but it would be kinda cool to see it from begining to end without interuption.
Just my thoughts.Best $5.50 I've spent at the theater in quite a while.

 

[Chris Rein]

Patrick,
I am SOOOOO glad you mentioned that! I just saw the movie with my wife (we both loved it!), and when I left, I was like "That would be awesome if on the DVD, they had an option to play the movie from start to finish."
As for the movie, what a kick-ass movie. Made me do some thinking. I'm so glad I heard good things about this movie. The trailer looked interesting, but for some reason, it didn't just throw me into the theater. Word of mouth did it for me, and I'm glad I didn't miss this one.

Chris
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[David_ME]

first i just want to state that i haven't read any of this thread so far and i just wanted to get my impressions of the amazing movie down before i read any more on it.
i just watched this movie last night and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it, i tried to covince my girlfriend to watch the 10:40 show after our 7:45 one was over, but that wasn't going to happened. i think this was the first movie ever that left me speechless, i was at a loss for words on how to decribe it, it was simply amazing. this is some of my impressions on the movie and i'm sure that all of you had different ones because me and my girlfriend could decide on what we thought about it.
first i think that the man on the phone was John G, but not "THE" John G. that killed, (or maybe just raped and she lived and the the sammy jenkins story was about him) his wife, but the one that uses Leanord to kill drug dealers and minipulate him. i think that Teddy is really someone that is looking out for leanord, but what leanord doesn't know is that teddy and john g, on the phone, are the same person. the jimmy that he kills and steals the car and suit from is either natalie's boyfriend or dealer i'm leaning more towards boyfriend but the fact that he has the coaster in his pocket makes it seem like he doesn't know her very well, but when leanord pulls up she says hi jimmy but then realizes is isn't him.
i think that the last thing leanord remembers is seeing his wife getting raped and then hits his head and from then on can remember what happenes so he assumes that is when she died, but she could have lived and he wouldn't remember and the sammy jenkins story could be him... hold on... i just realizes something...
i have no idea what happened in this movie and i think that WAS the intention. i'm trying to think about it but i now feel that i could have "altered" my own memories of what i saw in the movie theater to fit the idea i already had. oh well i guess i have to see it again, i can't wait for this one to come out on dvd. i'll read the posts and maybe that will clear some of it up. anyway flat out the best movie i've ever seen in a movie theater, the second time i watched fight club is pretty close to this though.
david (sorry for the pointless post)