This movie makes my list for being one of the most original films of the year. It stars Guy Pearce as a man in search of his wife’s killer. His only problem: he has no short term memory. In other words, he can’t remember anything that happened to him over 5 minutes ago. This proves to be a very interesting, and confusing obstacle for him to deal with as he tries to solve what could be a difficult mystery to begin with. In order to convey the same sense of confusion that the main character feels, the movie progresses backwards, with all of the scenes played in reverse sequence. The film begins with Pearce killing the man he believes is his wife’s killer, and it progresses to tell us how he got to that point. Pearce has several mechanisms for helping himself remember clues about the murder. Most effective are the tattoos he puts all over his chest and arms that tell him things he knows for certain about the killer. He also takes Polaroid pictures of people he meets and writes his thoughts or impressions of them on the back. I won’t reveal any details of the story because that’s really the fun of it, but I will tell you that this plays like a film noir without the main character ever knowing he’s been played for a sap. Christopher Nolan does a fantastic job with the shadowy and dark environments in this film and the acting is all superb, including the two supporting performances by Joe Pantoliano and Carrie Ann Moss. It may take more than one viewing to really get a hold on it but Memento is one of the best psychological dramas in recent film history and one of the best films of the year.