Watching people watch Memento for the 1st time, is as close as Memento as it gets. I wish I could rewatch this movie again for the first time. I love this movie, great reaction!

This movie show excellent use of the Unreliable Narrator trope. Uses it without making the audience feel stupid or like nothing is worth it.

22:54 Split second shot of who Sammie really is. Anytime I show this to people and they are still a little confused, I just show them this frame. It is all right there! This and the Prestige are Nolan's non-epic masterpieces. And they get better on each additional viewing.

Love this movie. My favorite thing about it is the brilliant editing. Cutting the scenes the way they did - in reverse order - the audience usually has no more information about what just happened than Leonard does, and so they can experience the scene in almost the same way he is.

I've seen this movie a few times and this is the first time I noticed that when he is recalling the last thing he remembers - staring face to face with his wife in the plastic as he is passing out - that she blinks. She is still alive under that plastic. Teddy was telling the truth that she survived the event.

When you rewatch this film, knowing that Leonard stole the Jaguar from a drug dealer and that there is $200,000 in the trunk (Teddy tells him this in the last scene), you realize that throughout the film Teddy is constantly trying to get the Jaguar away from Leonard. He keeps trying to get the keys from him, getting him to let him drive, etc. He wants to get the car away from him because he wants that $200,000 - and Leonard has no idea that money is there.

a couple things easy to miss until youve watched the movie like 5+ times: Lenny writes down Teddy's license plate number as Fact number 6. How does he know the exact number he's up to on his list of "facts"? He doesn't check the tattoos on his body or anything before writing it down. Lenny remembers what he wants to remember; Lenny remembers more than he is willing to admit, especially to himself. Lenny can also remember through conditioning and repetition. He says so himself throughout the movie. In the first scene of the film (ie the last one chronologically), where he shoots Teddy, Teddy gives the "that's who you *were*, you do not know who you *are*" speech, pretty much verbatim the way we learn later that he had done earlier (and probably several times before that as well, before the events that take place in the movie; he had known Lenny for over a year after all). You can see on Lenny's face that it triggers a memory, that he has heard it before, that Teddy has told him this before, and the context of it. Teddy sees it too, a second before he is shot, as he realizes Lenny is about to actually kill him and shouts "no!"

The reason this is my favourite movie is because it gets better the more you watch, every rewatch you'll pick up and appreciate subtle details and subtext you may not have the first time you watched it. Perfect movie

one of the most perfect, iron-clad movies ever made. a true masterpiece

Memento is one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. It's basically a horror movie but instead of a ghost you are haunted by the thought of what you would be without memory. It really made me feel the pointlessness of that existence. But I guess that's why it comes with a label saying: "Warning: May contain traces of Christopher Nolan".

I was fortunate to have seen this movie in theatres, twice. The first time I was like 3-4 minutes late, didn't see Leonard kill Teddy. The second time I was there through the opening previews, saw the opening scene... it quite literally changes the entire story, just those few minutes.

Natalie's bitterness is the delicious irony cherry on top of the cake. She told him that she could hurt him and that he would forget, that they could even be lovers. Then they DID become lovers, and she started feeling for him... and he forgot that, too.

Maybe that was the best reaction I've ever seen. The concentration, the theories, the moments when you get confused or just go crazy, it's an incredible experience.Glad to hear you like Nolan's movies too. It is very pleasant to watch videos of reactions where you can see that the person is really enjoying it. I really liked everything. Thank you so much for this masterpiece that was the video. I would like to know if you intend to do reactions from other Nolan films... Congratulations on the great work and dedication, much success to you!!! Please forgive my English, I used Google Translate haha

You were right about the telephone conversation being linear, it is actually the beginning of the story, notice how the B/W scenes changed to colour when Lenny takes a polaroid of Jimmy, that kicks in the rest that was played backwards

has anyone mentioned the order of the scenes based on color vs B&W yet? The scenes in B&W are in forward order chronologically, while the scenes in color are in reverse chronological order. On repeat watching it becomes more obvious. Super trippy and so brilliant in heightening the suspense just by the order Nolan chose to cut together the scenes.

Kudos to your editing, active commentary, and actually paying attention to the films. This channel should be WAY bigger. Hope you blow up big time soon. Sometimes, it just takes the right movie or classic to hit the masses. Keep on the great work.

I remember seeing this in the theater (I even remember which theater - Lincoln Plaza Cinemas near Lincoln Center), and I went knowing NOTHING about the movie other than the cast, specifically Guy Pearce (who I knew from ...Priscilla...), Carrie-Anne Moss (just the year after The Matrix) and Joe Pantoliano (from so many things). Just those three names got me there, and going in with no expectations or knowledge of it at all was such a fun way to see this movie. I love your commentaries, and I'm checking out Eternal Sunshine next. Thanks for such a great birthday present.

29:36 - Thank you for that literal physicalization of how my brain felt after watching this movie for the first time.

I remember seeing this in the theatre on its release with my girlfriend at the time, neither of us having any real idea of what it was about or who Chris Nolan was. And both of us walking out at the end utterly stunned and speechless. Normally we'd go get a drink after a movie and discuss, but Momento ... we went and got a drink, and just kinda stared at each other, unable to put into words what we'd just seen. A few years later I was watching some other movie and the trailer for Batman Begins played and I almost wet myself .. then the name Chris Nolan came up at the end of the trailer and I remembered he was "the Memento guy" .. (still managed not to wet myself, but it was close ;)

GREAT reaction, good editing notes too! This is my favorite Nolan movie by a mile, blew my mind 20 years ago. Above only to The Prestige.

Hey Clariss, so from what I’ve read the idea for this movie originally came from Christopher Nolan’s brother Jonathan Nolan who wrote the idea as a short story titled “Memento Morí” which means in Latin “remember that you have to die”. Jonathan told the idea to Christopher and encouraged him to write the screenplay for the film and the rest is history. And the short story was published on the March 2001 edition of Esquire magazine. A year after the movie itself came out. But yeah this movie is mind blowing! And we have Jonathan Nolan to thank for coming up the idea for this movie and encouraging Chris to make it into a feature film.

I think this film is the best example of the fact that there are films that are good because of what they tell. And films that are so damn good because of HOW they tell something. Nolan is simply one of the best writers and directors. Of course in collaboration with his brother Jonathan.

One thing critics sometimes try and say is that, if Leonard can't form new memories, how does he know he has this condition at all? While it's hard to know exactly why, the fact is that anterograde amnesia is a real condition and there are verified instances of people who did know they had it. However that works, it's not a flaw in the plot. This plot doesn't have a flaw.

Amazing reaction!!! Usually I don't like when I or anyone else pauses a movie to dissect the plot BUT if there's any movie where it's worth doing it, Memento is that movie. You picked up on a lot of plot details and easter eggs (like the very brief shot of Lenny with the insulin) which I didn't even notice during my first viewing. And your rambling after that ending is exactly how I was after my first viewing and it's now in my top 3 movies of all time! You earned a new sub :)

Whenever people ask me for movie recommendations I *always* suggest Memento first. I don't give away any details about the story but I explain the structure of the film because that's more important. The first scene is the end of the story and the second scene is the beginning of the story. The film zigzags back and forth between the monochromatic first half and the colored second half with the monochromatic scenes going forward and the colored scenes going backward until the end of the film, which is the middle of the story, where the last monochromatic scene becomes the first colored scene. That explanation alone is enough to get people intrigued, confused and excited about Memento. I love watching KZfaq reactions to Memento because they are how I imagine my friends and coworkers seeing it!

A great detail is the fact that if it was physical damage caused amnesia he wouldn’t be aware that he has amnesia every time he snaps into a new cycle. But he he does know because he’s selectively remembered and altered thing in his mind.

Hey, Clariss! Christopher Nolan is this generation's Stanley Kubrick. Each film is distinctive yet obsesses over the same issues. And each film is a masterpiece. There is a feature on the DVD that allows you to watch the film linearly in chronological order and it's just as fascinating. His first film is a black-and-white neo-noir called "Following" that is well worth seeing as is his underappreciated remake of the Swedish thriller "Insomnia" with Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. Some people have joked that Nolan is actually Thanos because he has demonstrated his mastery over the Infinity Stones with his films: Memento = Mind The Prestige = Soul The Dark Knight = Power Inception = Reality Interstellar = Space Tenet = Time Please, Clariss, react to "What If...?" and the final trailer (Trailer 3) to AppleTV+'s "Foundation"!

Love Memento and Eternal Sunshine, both top 10 faves with Eternal being #1. I have to recommend if not seen: There Will Be Blood, The King of Comedy, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Yi Yi, The Florida Project, and the series The Leftovers. Thank you for your consideration.

this is one of my favorite movies and I love watching it through your eyes reacting to this mind twist movie that's probably Christopher Nolan's best work

I love this movie so much! I got goosebumps AGAIN watching Teddy tell Leonard about the reality of what happened to his wife as you watched in this video. I recently saw another breakdown about Memento and they mentioned a few things that I had never noticed or heard about regarding Leonard being an unreliable narrator: the photo of Natalie and Jimmy changes in the different scenes where Leonard looks at it AND Teddy's license plate number changes, too. In some scenes it ends in 7IU and in others it ends in 71U. Leonard deals with that inconsistency by having just a straight line drawn in his tattoo, so it could be a 1 or and I.

Absolutely loved this movie!!! Love seeing reactions to people watching it the first time and seeing the moment it clicks when they figure it out. Spectacular movie, directing, acting, and script.

This is one of those movies that re-wires your brain after you see it. Even on re-watches.

Your reaction to the end of this amazing movie is pure priceless love you

You did a really great job understanding it between the first time watching and your edit. Well done!

I had to watch this in film class. I was currently battling a very bad addiction to heroin and I remember watching this movie when I was in class just faded and so many parts of this movie has stuck with me. I'm very sober now and living well but man.. Being high watching this movie was SOOO trippy. One of my top fives fasho.

My must watch list: The Mist, Predestination, Jacob's Ladder(90s), Shutter Island, The Prestige, The Others, The Village, Vanilla Sky, Before I Wake, Sixth Sense, Donnie Darko, Saw

This is the most HD reaction channel on youtube imo lol. Her cam quality is so high compared to other reactors sjsjs

I'm so glad you enjoyed this movie. One of my favorites. Your ability to follow everything was great. Your reaction at the end was worth every second 😂😂

I just finished watching this movie,and I think I need to watch it again.

Man i really love your commentary! U actually help me realize more about the movie! Need to check your other movie reactions also!

Thank you for one of the very few intelligent reactions & dissections there is to this film!

"You're gonna be my John G.". Photos and notes can't lie, right? ;)

That was a Priceless reaction great video

I love your reactions and how much time you put in your thoughts (and second thoughts in the edits).

THIS IS MY FAVORIT MOVIE

Great reaction and pretty much my experience when watching this masterpiece for the first time. This is still my favorite movie of all time because it actually gets (somewhat) better on rewatch - it's just such an air-tight script. In case you didn't know: Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan talked about the movie and especially the script (that had been written by Jonathan Nolan) endlessly on a long cross-country roadtrip. That is probably why this script is so tight and the film so dense with great moments, clever reveals and really smartly foreshadowed twists.

Great reaction, and I think your response has made me want to give Memento another try. It's been ages since I've watched it and it's definitely not my favorite Nolan movie but I always come back to it somehow. I also think you should do a reaction video to Nolan's Insomnia remake/movie next. You don't see too many reaction videos on Insomnia, but it's got pretty great performances by Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hillary Swank, and others. It's also the last Nolan film to be rated R as well.

You should definitely consider doing a reaction/review for the classic film noir 'Double Indemnity' (1944)

Teddy is the real hero of this movie.

She used to be more fit and athletic before the purple her, but I like her much better now!

Poor Natalie. She has a (seemingly) good relationship with Jimmy. Then Jimmy goes to meet Teddy to make a drug deal. Natalie never sees Jimmy again. Some guy shows up at her bar driving Jimmy's car and wearing Jimmy's clothes. He explains his memory condition to her and says the reason he came to the bar was because he found a coaster in "his" pocket with a message from her written on the back. She recognizes this and realizes that coaster was one that she gave to Jimmy, so she knows that Jimmy is dead and this guy killed him. No wonder she hated him and treated him the way she did.

20:08 I honestly thought that was Hugh Jackman in the photo for a second the first time I saw this movie. I was like wtf? Then I realized.. oh yeah i'm an idiot.

Memento was the only movie ever that I immediately watched again after watching it first time. it is so incredible that you have those 2 timelines - one being the colored one going backwards, and the other one black and white representing the past and going onwards, until they meat at the end together revealing the ugly truth: the whole movie, everybody was taking advantage of Lennard, until it is exposed that even Lennard himself takes advantage of his condition by creating the lie of having to chase the murderer of his wife, regardless of finding the correct person or not. I like the allegory that it symbolizes lies that we tell ourselves everyday in order to be more happy with ourselves, even if we know that it is complete nonsense. it kinda also questions the purpose of certain obsessive goals, making yourself wondering what happens with your life if you achieve X, because clearly often times you get temporarily excited but then fall again in a state of depression revealing that the process of achieving the goal is the actual satisfaction and not the goal itself. so many psychological layers inbeded in a brilliant story with and unique artistic execution

Hi Clariss! Loving your reactions! Your comment about never making anything as good as this movie made me wonder if you've ever seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There are several iconically artistic episodes in that show, but one in particular, Joss Whedon has said is the greatest thing he will ever make. Anyway, if you haven't seen it, please consider reacting to it! I'd love to watch 😁 Thanks for sharing with us!

Loved the reaction, do u reckon you could talk about it in another video?

Such an amazing movie for a first time director!

This is my favorite movie from C. Nolan.

Dope reaction, just saw the movie for the first time myself

I loved you're reaction

Great reaction video.

This movie is a masterpiece

This movie is one of my favorite 🙂

My favourite film.

29:46 -- right?! That last flashback involving Sammy, you see a doctor walk by Sammy as he's sitting, and after he goes by there's Lenny in the chair, and I thought you caught it (from the look on your face), but I guess you didn't. I'm so glad that you enjoyed this film.

I really enjoyed this video about one of my favorite movies, but the audio levels are all over the place! I recommend leveling all dialogue to -3 or -6 dB and your music at like -12 to -18 dB under dialogue

Your gorgeous and I love your purple hair! 💜 If you love this movie...I highly recommend American Psycho with Christian Bale. I would love to see a reaction from you for that film! Christian Bale knocks it outta the park with his amazing method acting!

"We" saw this film two times in a row. "We". A group of individuals sitting in that theater. And when this finished, there was a collective "What in the world just happened? What did we just see?" And someone started it: the response. "I think I'm going to see it again. Right now. Stay here, watch it again." And so 'we' did. "We" got back together two days later to see it a third time, and we were still forgetting details here and there. We'd get back together for the there months it stayed in theaters... some of us saw it individually, sometimes in pairs or more. But it always left us thinking, "What have we just SEEN?!!" This is the masterpiece, as far as I'm concerned, in storytelling... writing... filmmaking.

Amazing reaction to an amazing film

Love your review/reaction :) Even on 1st viewing, this film seems so confusing but everything makes sense when the credits roll. If this really was your first time watching Memento, you were picking up on things like Leonard's self assurance & smugness & character traits & stuff like that. You were pre-empting s**t I didn't notice on my 1st viewing. Things that i still hadn't noticed after watching this film multiple times. Love your work. Subscriber :)

A couple other Guy Pearce movies that are must see.....The Count of Monte Cristo, The Time Machine.

Ah your amazing great reaction. You should do more physiological thrillers, you seen fight club, inception, the prestige, shutter island?

happy birthday Clariss, I hope you see Reminiscence by Jonathon Nolan's wife Lisa Joy

This is late but happy birthday!

This movie is legendary.

Here are my clues: I think I just fell in love. I watched Memento many years ago.

Dark knight Inception Insomnia Are my 3 fav Nolan movies

All the dislikes are John G's.

Most of Nolan's dialogue is just exposition.

Please react to Premonition (Sandra Bullock)

I was wondering what credentials one must have in order to refer to themselves as an actor or actress?

To my mind, and others may surely disagree, this is the movie that made Nolan’s reputation and most subsequent movies chip away at that reputation. Memento is such a high bar that when other movies have flaws, it’s a little disappointing.

how did you write this? Technically, his brother Jonathan wrote it.

Question: How does he know to remember the intent to avenge his wife that must have formed after his accident to the same degree and intensity that happened early in his disease?

Can you please react to the movie called Stigmata My fav Please

Not crediting Jonathan Nolan for this is criminal.

Your birthday is August 20th?!

Quit saying Lenny is douchey...Damn...Ok...yes, he's douchey but we love the guy...

you're similar to leanard

I really feel like Chris Nolan is overrated. Inception is, like... influential, and really interesting, but honestly? If it wasn't for the memes and the "bwaa!" I don't think it'd be that memorable. Interstellar is, IMO, without heart or emotion. The Batman trilogy is pretty good, but... I don't know, I mostly appreciate it intellectually more than it touching me emotionally. (Especially the 3rd; Dark Knight Rises is a mess.) Prestige is really good, to be fair. I think it being based on a book helps, because a different creative person injected heart, something Nolan isn't really good at or interested in. And Nolan's flaws being patched over by the author's talents allows Nolan's talents to shine; as an example, there's nearly 200 time jumps (going forward and backward - I heard the number so long ago, I think it was 150ish) but you're NEVER confused about what's going on. I mean, you're trying to figure the story out, it's a puzzle, but you're not confused by bad story-telling, you're "confused" because you're working on putting the pieces together, and you don't get all the pieces until the end. Memento however... Memento is fucking brilliant. As I said, most of Nolan's work, while I appreciate the craftsmanship, doesn't appeal to my sensibilities. But Memento is such a brilliant, singular, genius fucking movie. It should be near the top of any reactor's list. Fucking brilliant. (And Guy Pierce is incredible. Like a few other actors I really like, he's often better than many of the projects he's in; the one memorable Pierce movie that I'd recommend, that comes readily to mind - other than Memento, of course - is "Ravenous.") Transitioning to other actors who are all-too-often better than the movies they're in: the biggest one, to me, is probably Sam Rockwell. And his "Ravenous" is "Mr Right". It's an action RomCom similar to Grosse Pointe Blank - and nothing else that I can think of; not a movie on the level of Memento, of course, but it's really fun, Sam Rockwell is at his Sam Rockwelliest, and the female lead is Anna Kendrick. Who is popular enough that I'm surprised it flew under the radar the way it did. The other actor I'd like to mention is Patrick Wilson. His Ravenous/Mr Right is "Stretch". It's such a perfect vehicle for the type of character Patrick Wilson seems to always play, but it's the best, most fun, version of it. Another big name actor is in it, but I think his appearance is supposed to be a surprise, so I won't mention him by name. ... I don't like not making a case for why you should check out a movie, I want to lay out why I enjoy it, why I think you might, so that you can make an educated decision - you know what you like more than I do - but I don't know how to make a case for Stretch that does it justice without giving away too much. Ravenous is maybe a bit easier? Although it probably won't sound as good as it is: Civil War era movie, some soldiers at an outpost cut off from society due to inclement weather. There's some cannibalism themes. The director hasn't done a lot, I don't think; I'm actually not sure if she's done anything else, I think one other movie and that's all? But it's just a really weird, unique movie. So... that's my 3some of underrated, weird, interesting movies: Mr Right Stretch and Ravenous If you're looking to grow your channel, they might not be great choices. They're not hugely popular; some obvious content - the MCU, Game of Thrones, Firefly - would probably get more clicks. At the same time, maybe I'm wrong; a case can be made that doing something more niche will stand out and the people who like those movies will *have to* watch your reaction - if they want to watch a reaction - because nobody else is doing it. I can easily make a list of 20-30 really noteworthy, fun, interesting movies (Walk Hard; A Knight's Tale; The Mummy; Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang; Lucky Number Slevin; 7 Days in Hell; The Princess Bride) and another 20 or so tv shows (Keen Eddie; Life; Farscape; Psych; Veronica Mars; Party Down; Community), but... those 3 are the underappreciated few I'll choose to highlight (while, of course, mentioning a handful in passing; maybe somebody will see my comment and champion one or two I mentioned in passing).