MovieChat Forums > Memento (2001) Discussion > This movie has no closure!

This movie has no closure!

posted 10 years ago by sanjay_kn
17 replies | jump to latest

and nolan is wrong in suggesting that it is all there! It is at the end of the day saying,'if you say so' kind of thing!
the verbose discussion here just points to that!
the lack of proper closure has cost this movie dear!

A proper conclusion no matter what twist you add in the film is the pre-requirement of proper cinema. fooling the audience is amateurish!
he can be excused here as this is first real commercial venture.

no country for old men is a classic example. it had a closure all be it on the wrong side! it won all the awards for a reason!

He continues to shoot himself in the foot with inception as well. that movie was also a best film choice barring inconclusive ending.

Due to very this reason this film just remains a film noir on par with pulp fiction( both trendsetters which were dumped at the oscars!).

No big hollywood directors resume is complete without the best film/best director's nod.

There was a reason why spielberg did not get the nod till he had to tackle really relevant subject and tough one like 'the schinlders list'. Everybody knew he is a great film maker in whatever he touches but till he handles real human emotional drama he did not get the nod. Once he did that oscars galored!

nolan is going kubricks way here.

Is his purpose making just great cinema and fool the audience?
or he is supposed to make great cinema with proper conclusion no matter what cerebral stuff includes in the script!

the directors has to set the objectivity and that is the whole purpose of it and not let audience make a conclusion for themselves!

[–] mad_weather 10 years ago

"No country" is heavily overrated by critics, and "Memento" is the other way around. Is it affronting? Yeah, perhaps. But I'd rather have a great movie without Oscars than a mediocre one with heaps of. Let Nolan stay Nolan and film like Nolan, and to hell with critics, especially IMDB ones.

[–] sanjay_kn 10 years ago

no country is not over-rated. One look at it I knew it is gonna bag all the oscars. just like one look at 'jokers' and 'chigurh' role we know we have not seen anything like it( same happened to hannibal).
memento is speculative with vague interpretations. the critics should give best film for what? for reverse story telling? which has been done before? For rich artistry? is it the story so original? Exceptional acting? Music? There is no one category though it gets A in all of them.
And at the ends up as any movie with just different way of story telling and inconclusive( the endless discussion here is just the proof of that).

you need to understand a proper closure is difficult and that is what makes a great cinema. The purpose of film making should be clear to differentiate between a great director and box office directors and experimental directors.

they would have to elevate to the next level to express point of view and than sell it to audience.

memento was done by nolan when he was young. But his amateurish taste just like quentin only eligible for great film makers who can tell twisting tale, big budgets, high simulated drama, and surprising twist. Hence both have been snubbed at oscars.

can they do a david lean? Or roman polanski? or martin scor( took him forever to get the oscars) and steven.

that is handle human drama, human conflict, human trauma and what exactly happens due to that combined with bigger stakes( he has began to do that it in interstellar).

this comes by age as you experience life better!

Forget your vagueness and make a proper grand cinema is critics point!
they missed out on dark knight where he did a splendid job. Inception did not get just like memento for its vagueness!

Interstellar is great but will the nod come for sci-fi where its logic also has been stretched beyond comprehension to few( as an art it was needed).

I hope he gets nominated here!

[–] wesolmon 10 years ago

There was no vagueness at the end of this film. I'm not sure what you are talking about.

*Spoiler* at the end when Leonard says "so you will be my John G" we realize he keeps recreating this over and over again because he cannot remember. Teddy is telling the truth how he was the cop assigned to the case and how he kept trying to help Leonard hoping he would remember one time and stop hunting.
(Actual ending of the storyline) Leonard killed his wife. Leonard's wife had diabete and she overdosed because he kept giving her insulin and forgetting he did. He kills Teddy and takes the picture proving himself that he finally killed his John G.

[–] avortac 9 years ago

"*Spoiler* at the end when Leonard says "so you will be my John G" we realize he keeps recreating this over and over again because he cannot remember."'

Actually, he makes sure he can never continue the quest.

There's going to be a frigging' TATTOO of Teddy's license plate number on his body. He can see it every time he looks at his leg. It's never going to be another "John G"'s license plate number.

I mean, would he ever remove something from his body that says "FACT" above it? If it's a fact, why remove it?

He can ONLY come to the conclusion that the owner of the car is a dead "John G", every time he tries to find him - so every time, he will always know that his quest is now over. Eventually, he might possibly tattoo "I did it!" on his chest, or something.

But in any case, he can never find any other "John G" (after all, the facts only now fit Teddy, who is dead). He will always come back to the dead Teddy.

[–] woodstock1960 9 years ago

I'm figuring that's why Lenny came to a screeching halt in front of the tattoo parlor at the ending...to get his, "I've done it" tattoo. 

"Ain't life grand!"

[–] mad_weather 9 years ago

No, his plan was to make a tattoo with the license plate number, and regardless of whether he still remembered that it was in order to deceive himself later or already thinks the note he has is genuine, that's what he stops there for.
(I think the moment he opens eyes is where he loses the connection between his current philosophical ruminations and what it is actually *about*).

[–] woodstock1960 9 years ago

Yeah...I forgot the movie was playing backwards...lol. It is definitely one confusing movie! But a very good movie! 

"Ain't life grand!"

[–] sunnydaze_8 9 years ago

I just watched this movie again and this scenario can keep repeating itself as long as there are people out there who know Lenny's story and decide to take advantage of him. Natalie, and the motel front desk clerk already did this and if he stays in that area they could do it again or any other crook that he comes in contact with for that matter. Remember Lenny has a bad habit of telling everyone his story so depending on the crook this could go on until Lenny winds up getting himself killed.

[–] njiuma 9 years ago

Leonard killed his wife. Leonard's wife had diabete and she overdosed because he kept giving her insulin and forgetting he did. He kills Teddy and takes the picture proving himself that he finally killed his John G.

- that is the conclusion i drew as well. and Leonard will continue recreating the search for his wife's killer, invariably killing another innocent John G.

"If you love Jesus Christ and are 100% proud of it copy this and make it your signature!"

[–] WallaceHasLanded 9 years ago

- that is the conclusion i drew as well. and Leonard will continue recreating the search for his wife's killer, invariably killing another innocent John G.

What does that say about his character? It's hard to paint him into the protagonist role no matter how much he's manipulated and used by everyone around him.

He's a guy in pain. A guy who's been through some bad sh/t. His way of dealing with it is to put himself on a mission that will almost always end with him hunting down and killing someone. It might be subconsciously selfish, but that shouldn't change much. Murder is murder, regardless of motive or mental condition.

He could have killed Teddy immediately if he felt so wronged by being manipulated by him. He doesn't though. He's more interested in burning up more hours of his life. That's all he's really concerning with...giving himself a purpose. He doesn't even seem to think of the human collateral that goes along with that.

I'm not saying not to root for him or make him the protagonist of the film, but he's an odd one, if he's one at all.

[–] the-author 9 years ago

He could have killed Teddy immediately

could have, but Leonard does not believe himself (nor John) to be a cold-hearted killer.
The fact may prove otherwise. but still, Leonard resists killing John immediately.

Best unknown feature at IMDB.com
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/browse/

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Anticitizen 8 years ago

The conclusion of this film is at the very beginning. It goes backwards. The rest of the film is the story behind it, and it puts the ending in context.

At the 'end' of the film (the very first scene), Lenny shoots Teddy and takes a Polaroid photo of his body. This is how he will remember that his quest is over and he can finally get that 'I did it' tattoo. Teddy will no longer be able to manipulate Lenny into taking out drug dealers for him. There's your closure.

The 'beginning' of the film (the actual end, before the credits) is when we find out the twist that Lenny killed the real John G. ages ago and that Teddy had been using him. So the 'end' that we see (the story's beginning) retroactively makes the beginning (end) meaningful.

Damn this movie is hard to talk about in a non-confusing manner.

[–] ChrRome 8 years ago

"No big hollywood directors resume is complete without the best film/best director's nod".

Inception did get nominated for best picture which actually supports the notion that films don't necessarily need closure.

[–] firstwinsgop-1 8 years ago

At the 'end' of the film (the very first scene), Lenny shoots Teddy and takes a Polaroid photo of his body. This is how he will remember that his quest is over and he can finally get that 'I did it' tattoo. Teddy will no longer be able to manipulate Lenny into taking out drug dealers for him. There's your closure.

False. There is nothing "unique" about the Teddy killing. Lenny has taken pictures before, including when he killed the actual John G. It never works. He's always going to forget and continue his quest.

[–] the-author 8 years ago

I think John is correct, that this is all a made-up quest, living "a dream".

The very first tattoo is unreliable. Leonard may have taught himself by repetition into his subconcious. He 'remembers' his tattos at times, at least the direction they lead him.

It is feasible that after Leonard got this condition, that his wife simply left him, unable to take it anymore. This could prove to be more painful to Leonard than any other scenario.

The question becomes; Does Leonard really remember his wife dying?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN8wQJqk_mc

"I don't even know how long she's been gone."
This is in harmony with his tattoo "She is gone", rather than 'She is dead.'
"It's like I've woken up and she's not here."
"Somehow, I just know she's not going to come back."
"I know I can't have her back."
"I don't want to wake up in the morning thinking she's still here."
"...not knowing how long I've been alone."
This is a very telling statement. He does wake up thinking he's still with his wife.

Is it logical then that Leonard 'found' John Gammel but was convinced that he was not the John G he was searching for, and that it was at this point that 'Teddy' started to 'help' Leonard in his quest?

Best unknown feature at IMDB.com
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/browse/

[–] antoni109 8 years ago

False. There is nothing "unique" about the Teddy killing. Lenny has taken pictures before, including when he killed the actual John G. It never works. He's always going to forget and continue his quest.

Correct. Whenever he needs a new purpose he can destroy the photo, or label it as something else. That's the whole point.