Film Analysis of Memento
Columbia Tristar Films starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe
Pantoliano released “Memento” in 2001. The movie was produced by
Suzanne and Jennifer Todd, and was directed by Christopher Nolan.
Christopher Nolan also wrote the short story and screenplay. This
film is about a man named Leonard, played by Guy Pearce, who suffered
a major brain injury to the hippocampus that left him with a rare
memory disorder called anterograde amnesia. This disorder causes
Leonard not to be able to form any new memories. Leonard is now
trying to find and kill the person who murdered his wife to avenge his
wife’s death. Carrie-Anne Moss plays a friend of Leonard, or so he
thinks, that assists him in finding the person who killed his wife.
Joe Pantoliano plays another friend of Leonard who takes advantage of
his memory problem. “Memento” accurately depicts some of the problems
associated with a person diagnosed with anterograde amnesia.
Leonard, played by Guy Pearce, suffered a brain injury to the
hippocampus during a struggle with an attacker that leaves him unable
to form new memories. Having “damage to the hippocampus, fornix, or
mammillary bodies can result in anterograde amnesia, suggesting that
they are involved in the process of laying down long-term memories”
(“Enpsychlopedia”). The hippocampus is the part of the brain that
“mediates incoming new information. It is concerned with facts, data,
and events that occur in the present and is involved with temporary
memory representation allowing for controlled attention and rehearsal”
(“Causes”). This injury to Leonard’s hippocampus is what causes him
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...disorder take for granted is just one of
hardships amnesiacs face every day. Almost without fail, this movie
depicts how serious having anterograde amnesia can be.
Works Cited
Causes of Amnesia. Undergrad.ahs.waterloo.ca. 23 March 2005.
Enpsychlopedia: Anterograde Amnesia. Psych Central. 23 March 2005.
Anterograde Amnesias. MemoryLossOnline. 10 March 2005.
.
What is anterograde amnesia? Health-Cares.net. 12 March 2005.
.
Amnesias. Saumag.edu. 14 March 2004.
GPWeiten/C7Memory/Amnesias.html>.