I mean it's right here in Nolan's own words that Teddy was telling the truth and that Leonard was confabulating his butt off:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_(film)#Interpretations_and_analysis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confabulation
Why so much debate? No matter how manipulative/deceitful/whatever Teddy was, even a broken clock get the time right twice a day.
Because Nolan also said the opposite, that John lied.
Nolan insists he and his brother have never given away the secrets of the film,
Best unknown feature at IMDB.com
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/browse/
OK, give me a quote of him saying that. I gave one stating the opposite.
Plus the whole nature of confabulation on Lenny's part supports that:
- Dude is forever lost and confused in present time.
- Dude cannot deal with the fact he killed his wife (anterograde amnesia is never 100% clear cut, patients do have occasional "echoes" of things they have done past the onset of their condition, they just can't place them in context or make sense of them)
- Dude admits himself in the end he's willing to lie to himself and kill an innocent (Teddy) to make himself happy.
- Teddy has no reason to lie about things Lenny still knows (wife's diabetes, which would be before the attack, or Sammy Jenkins not being married for Lenny knew him before his injury) since he's well aware Lenny has no retrograde amnesia and thus would call BS on any lie Teddy stated on his past.
What else do you need? He himself (when alone) admits to what Teddy said he's been doing the whole time (confabulating and deliberately altering his facts/clues/evidence/memories to give himself the illusion of purpose).
Nolan's statements are fairly well-known.
Dude is forever lost and confused
Teddy has no reason to lie
"Nolan's statements are fairly well-known. "
Then you should have no problem coming up with one example. Unless there is none. You brought it up, the burden of proof is on you.
"But he can accurately remember his wife as well as Sammy.
He directly states "My wife wasn't diabetic." "
He can because they are past the injury. And when Teddy insists with "You sure?" Leonard hesitates and we see an "echo" of him indeed delivering insulin to his wife.
So unless he's the most manipulable suggestible person to ever walk the face of Earth, it's obvious Teddy is stating something true (and nope, people with this condition can't be made to misremember their past with a simple suggestion).
"He has every reason at the time.
His lies confuse Leonard and allow him to survive"
- He's not in danger at all, Lenny is not out to kill him and he admits it (how calmly removes the gun from his hands). His obvious lies are simply because others are listening to them at those moments (like Burt the clerk).
"If he's a snitch, then he is not a cop"
He's got an ID and badge, which look legit enough to Lenny, whom as insurance claim officer would be familiar with.
"there's a thread about John's character never acting like a police officer,"
Like a dirty one he sure is.
"Leonard never says he 'deliberately altering his facts/clues/evidence/memories", John says something like that. "
And Lenny does exactly that at the end, framing Teddy in order to have himself kill him.
Don't take my word for it, use your own eyes and look at what Lenny does at the end. You didn't address that...
the burden of proof is on you.
we see an "echo" of him indeed delivering insulin to his wife.
He's not in danger at all
He's got an ID
framing Teddy in order to have himself kill him.
he (John) sure is.
look at what Lenny does at the end. You didn't address that
"After twelve years, i don't feel I have to provide proof"
You do if I can provide contradictory proof. And I just did.
"Leonard see his past then pictures what John suggests, and dismisses it as false. His memory from before the accident is accurate. Having a form of amnesia does not create fake memories."
- That same echo can be seen in the movie BEFORE their confrontation, when he's on the phone with (we assume Teddy) blabbing away about Sammy and that is when Sammy suddenly becomes Lenny at the hospital. So that memory wasn't "created" by Teddy.
- His memory from before has become distorted (the [proof being Sammy's not being remembered as a fake despite failing the conditioning test, which was how he was found out, and that's when he's merged Sammy's memory with his own to offload onto Sammy the wife murdering by insulin). That happens even with normal people, and even Lenny himself states how unreliable memory is (witness identification at trials).
- Google confabulation (I already provided a link to its definition), here's just for you "memory disturbance, defined as the production of fabricated, distorted or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world, without the conscious intention to deceive.[1] Individuals who confabulate present incorrect memories ranging from "subtle alterations to bizarre fabrications",[2] and are generally very confident about their recollections, despite contradictory evidence". It's fairly typical of people with anterograde amnesia.
"John also feels he isn't in danger right before he gets his brains blown out."
That's a different scene, where Lenny has already lied to himself about Teddy being his wife's killer (which Teddy does not know). Before he did not believe that.
"He does so in order to be angry enough to kill John, stopping him from tricking Leonard into killing innocent people like Jimmy."
Please, had that been the case he would have shot Teddy right then and there. Reaching much?
"He didn't 'alter his memories'. he simply used his tattoo to find a John G."
He burned the picture of Jimmy's body, that's altering what now passes for his memories.
And the rest you can ram up your keister sideways since you're down to condescending and playing dumb ("what's the end?"). I won't bother reading any further reply, but don't let that stop you...
Me:
I don't feel I have to provide proof every time someone new appears when it involves something the writer or director or actor says. I would never simply put faith in something a director says.
I just did
Leonard threatened to kill him (John) with a gun to his head
John pretends to be a cop on the phone because he knows Leonard will talk to an officer on the phone
What evidence are you suggesting for stating "He sure is (a cop)"?
Look at what Lenny does at the end.
He takes a picture of (dead) John Gammell
He's merged Sammy's memory with his own to offload onto Sammy the wife murdering by insulin). That happens even with normal people.
He burned the picture of Jimmy's body, that's altering.. his memories.