Confronting Loss in Memento
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Confronting Loss in Memento
In Christopher Nolans Memento (2000) the main character, Leonard (Guy Pearce) deals with the loss of his wife, his memory, and his perception of time after witnessing his wifes murder. Nolan successfully shows Leonards loss of memory and time throughout the film with his comprehensive style of composition. Nolan displays Leonard dealing with these losses in one sequence where Leonard makes a small fire in order to burn some of his wifes possessions. In this sequence Nolan uses many techniques in order to sum up the battle the protagonist faces throughout the film
The establishing shot reveals Leonard driving down a dark and luminous path in an isolated area resembling Leonards own dark and isolated life. As he steps out of his car the camera follows as he makes his way over to a pile of wood. Nolan cuts to a close up of Leonard dropping the bag that is in his hand. He cuts to another close up of Leonards hand picking up wood for a moment creating some suspense as to what might be in the bag. Next Nolan cuts to a medium shot of Leonard holding the contents while seated behind a fire generating bright red illumination and rising smoke. The light glowing on Leonards face contrasting with the black background serves to show the strong emotions stirring up inside him while the smoke creates a mystical dreamlike feeling for the sequence. Nolan then cuts to the fire itself containing burning mementos of Leonards wife. The time Nolan spends displaying the contents shows the significance these mementos hold. The close ups of the burning items reveals Leonards pain in dealing with his loss.
Nolan quickly cuts back and forth from this fire scene to another scene in which Leonards wife