One of the strangest and most frustrating films I have seen in a long time. Imagine a roller coaster mixed with a murder mystery and you will understand half of what this film is. But I warn you this one will make your head hurt.

“Memento” stars Guy (LA Confidential) Pearce as Leonard, a guy whose life is shattered when a freak accident leaves him with a strange condition. The condition is that he has lost all short-term memory. He can remember everything previous to the accident but since his mind resets every ten minutes. He carries around pictures of who he knows and where he is going or where he has been.

Another problem with Leonard’s life is that he seems to be trying to solve a murder but when he uncovers something he often forgets. During Leonard’s quest he runs into a battered woman (Carrie Anne Moss) and a cop (Joe Pantoliano). Leonard struggles to find out what has been happening in his life but it all comes down to, “can he remember”.

This little film will push the average movie-goer into a frustrating coma then pull them out when the film feels like it. It’s painfully hard to sit through because the film itself resets every ten minutes so we can relate to what is happening in Leonard’s life. On top of having to adjust to that element you also have to deal with the story starting with a grisly murder and working its way back. Trust me, this isn’t the kind of movie for the average movie fan.

What’s interesting about the frustrating elements is that all the pieces when placed together do make sense and that the ending will evidently shock you. This is a twist ending like none I have ever seen. Just to get to that marvelous ending is painful but in some respects a journey worth taking.

I was blown away by Guy Pearce’s performance. He really worked hard for us to understand Leonard’s frustration. The scenes where he screams in his head that he has to remember something happened before the 10 minutes are up show a lot of depth and struggle his performance had to endure. It was a really exciting and interesting to see an actor go through so much torture.

I have never liked Carrie Anne Moss as an actress and in this film she just basically does what she has done in other projects. She doesn’t have the depth most film actresses have and that is a shame. Ever since the “Matrix”, she has become a household name but wasn’t it the film that should be recognized and not her.

Joe Pantoliano has nailed “the annoying sidekick who always knows more than he claims” role for a long time and that was evident in a film like “Bound”. He also succeeded in that kind of role when he starred with Moss in “The Matrix”. In this film, it’s interesting to see what happens to him in the beginning and how the audience still becomes curious about who he is. He was the perfect actor for this role.

If you can survive the coaster ride of this film’s lineage and editing, you do have an interesting payoff at the end. But always remember this film isn’t for everyone.

(3.5 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

Leonard Shelby has a condition. He can't form new memories. You could be talking to him one second and then he can't remember who you are. He'll forget where he lives, what he's doing. Leonard has had this condition ever since the "incident." The last memory Leonard has is of his wife...dying. Leonard knows that John G. raped and murdered his wife and that when he finds him he will kill him. Leonard doesn't know how long he has been searching, days months, years. The only things that are leading Leonard on his quest for vengeance are tattoos he has put on his body and notes that his written on the back of Polaroids. The only problem is some of his notes are wrong...and he may have just killed the wrong man.

Plot: Extremely compelling, the audience becomes as confused as Leonard journeying backwards through a memory he himself cannot recall. The entire film unravels in a dislinear fashion starting at the end heading toward the beginning with a few twists in the timeline that make what used to be facts seem like complete lies. Director Christopher Nolan based the film's screenplay on a short story written by his brother Jonathan Nolan. The film is loosely based on a true event when Jonathan was mugged on the street he searched endlessly for his assailant...of course he didn't have any memory problems. Memento is truly the story of a man's quest for vengeance that grows so large that his life is dedicated to seeking instead of dealing with reality. It's been about a week since a saw this film at the famed Angelika Film Center in New York City and I'm still not sure if I quite understand what "really" happened. Every character in the movie isn't trustworthy...even Leonard himself. Its hard to separate the fact from the fiction, and that's what makes the movie so great. It keeps you thinking even after you've left the theater. ***** (out of five)

Acting: Memento stars Guy Pearce as Leonard and two The Matrix alumni Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano as Natalie and Teddy respectively. This film is a great acting vehicle and everyone performs admirably. Guy Pearce, England native, plays the confused Leonard with a certain preciseness that is unexplainable and like every character in the film he plays both good and evil with pinpoint accuracy. The acting in this film is simply impressive. Some of the supporting cast, on the other hand, don't deserve nearly as much praise. Characters such as the hotel owner and Natalie's gangster boyfriend come off as just...well, actors reading a script. ****(out of five)

Directing: Christopher Nolan has a frantically serene shooting style that is not easily compared to any other director...and that's a good thing. Somehow Nolan manages to tell the entire story and still leave the audience with questions about the film as they walk out. He allows characters to change motivations, stories to be altered, and pasts to be questioned while all of it still makes sense. Its really amazing if you sit down and think about it. If you've seen films like Pulp Fiction you are only beginning to grasp the dislinear style that is constant throughout this film. In its own strange way its a refreshing experience. ***** (out of five)

Music: David Julyan composes the memorable, but necessarily good, score for this film. Admittedly this film's music has its moments of frantic pacing and haunting underlying theme, but the rest of it is very much forgettable. ****(out of five)

Special Effects: No effects worth noting no points lost or gained. n/a(out of five)

Bottom Line: Memento is an excellent film that continues to occupy my mind even today. Although it is occasionally visited by lackluster acting and a not-so-interesting score the story is still so riveting that this is a film event that cannot be missed. Hopefully you live near one of the 11 screens the film is playing on in the United States. ****1/2(out of five)