The story is basic. Leonard (Guy Pearce) is searching for his wife's killer and has tracked him to a small town, meeting a variety of individuals along the way. The twist is that Leonard has a condition that causes shot term memories to fade away after a few minutes. He's continually introducing himself and finds himself manipulated throughout the film.
The other twist is in the way that the film is presented. Christopher Nolan gives us the story from the end to the beginning in small pieces that represents a portion of Leonard's day before forgetting what has happened before. This leaves the viewer in the dark just as much as Leonard because we have no idea how he got in the situation he's currently in until the film kicks back again. With Nolan doing this you become more excited by seeing the beginning (at the end) than the ending (at the beginning). Nolan directs the film with great attention to detail and shows us how bleak Leonard's existence has become. The small cast also includes Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss who round out the core of the film as two beings that continual pull Leonard into their respective ways.
Memento is a great achievement for Christopher Nolan. It feels like a more approachable version of a David Lynch film and gives us a more enjoyable ride than the standard thriller. What really got me was the narration from Pearce makes me almost list this as film noir with the flawed hero clunking around looking for answers. You get the "condition" for two hours and makes the film even better.
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