Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Comment #6 -- Memento



I'm making this an open thread about Memento -- no specific prompt or rules, just that you're thoughtful and kind to each other. It would be nice if this turned into a more conversational thread, where later commenters build off/ask questions of earlier commenters. Goodness knows you probably have a lot of questions, theories, insights, etc., so dialogue can be very helpful in fleshing them out.

Also, you might also want to check out this site, which has a lot of interesting info on the film.

74 comments:

Unknown said...

Wooo hooo first comment! Eat it kyle!!!
Anyway, I'm just a little confused about how Natalie and her boyfriend got involved with Leonard in the first place. He just magically had that coaster with her name on it in his pocket, but I don't think it ever showed her writing it down in the first place. Did it? So I guess my question is is who set him up to go see Natalie in the first place?
Also one more random question for everyone...was the person who was prank calling Lenny and slipping notes under his door Teddy? That confused me.

Unknown said...

Last comment was from:
Lucy R.
Hour 2

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
AnnaF said...

I thought that Natalie had written on the coaster and given it to Jimmy earlier but we never saw that in the movie and then when Leonard had killed jimmy he put his coat on which had the coaster in it... And I think it was Teddy who was calling Leonard because he said that he was the cop assigned to his case and the man from the front desk said that a cop kept calling and needed to speak to him. Also the picture he slipped under the door was the picture Teddy claimed he had taken.

-Anna F
Hour 2

Matt H. said...

I think it was Teddy because the hotel manager said it was a cop that was waiting for him in the lobby that one scene, and while on the phone, he was talking to a cop all the time. I am not sure on this but I'm guessing Teddy preferred talking to Lenny on the phone because we know Lenny is better talking to people face to face. If on the phone, there was a good chance Lenny could forget who he was talking to or something. This probably is right, but what I thought seemed like.

Matt H.
Hour 1

Unknown said...

At first, after seeing the scene where Teddy tells Leonard that a cop has been playing a prank on him by calling him and talking about Sammy Jankis, I assumed that it was some other cop that Teddy knew through his job. After seeing the end of the movie though, I'm not so sure anymore. On the one hand, if you believe Teddy's explanation in the final scene of the movie, it seems like Teddy is genuinely trying to help Leonard, giving him something to live for, and it doesn't make sense that he would waste his time prank calling him. On the other hand, it doesn't seem like the director would allude to another character in the movie without ever actually revealing them. That's what I think, anyway.
Isaac S.
Hour 6

Josh said...

I believe that the whole story is just a misinterpretation of Leonard's past memory. He made up the story of sammy jankis to be able to cope with himself of what he did. The movie keeps referring back to the scene when Leonard "pinches" his wife but it really is him giving her the insulin shot. Leonard only wanted a reason to live and the reason was revenge so he created an unsolvable puzzle for himself to seek revenge. I believe what Teddy was saying at the end to be true because after viewing the movie it all plays out and is logical. Even Leonard says that you cant trust memory because it is just an interpretation and Leonard's memory of his wife is wrong because he is remembering what he wants to remember and convinces himself to believe that his wife was killed in the incident and he is seeking her killer. The sammy jankis story is really his story and what Teddy has to say in the final scene comes to be true.

Josh W
hour 2

Eva said...

I agree with this last comment. Teddy guessed right when he said that Leonard was just trying to escape from what he did to his wife through his memory condition: he invented an impossible story to deny that he killed his wife, to prove to himself that he is not the guilty guy. But Teddy understood that and I guess Leonard couldn't accept that someone actually found out; so he "manipulated" his own memory until he had to kill Teddy by pretending in his imagination that he was the killer.

Just one little comment: one of the last scenes of the movie is of Leonard's happiness when he imagines he is with his wife and he has the tattoo on his chest that says "I've done it." Leonard is thinking that this tattoo is to prove that he killed Teddy but I think it can also have another meaning: Leonard's tattoo can admit that he killed his own wife.

Eva C.
6th hour

Whelch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Whelch said...

Lenny makes up his own stories, as we see in the end when we discover that teddy is in fact a cop who is NOT the killer. But more intresting than this is what Teddy has to say, and what Lenny does in response. in reference to the first, Teddy mentions that Lenny fudged with
his own files to make the search for John G. more interesting, and if this is true, then he must have been aware of what he was doing when he through out those police records, so he knew he would eventually be finding an innocent man by the name of John G. and taking his life in hope of achieving satisfaction and revenge. This is murder, so to the question of whether Lenny is taking on the role of just desserts, i say nay, and to reaffirm my position, i refer to his final actions before leaving the scene at the end of the movie; he writes the license plate number Teddy, knowing that doing so would set up us as the bomb to kill Teddy, knowing all the while that Teddy is both innocent and trying - although maliciously - to help him. this is all of course assuming that teddy has no reason to lie to Lenny in the first place.

Blair P.
1st hour

Chris Sjolander said...

I would agree with Josh in his assertion that we should trust Teddy's words. Teddy was most likely not involved in the murder of Leonard's wife, yet this does not render him innocent. When this cop discovered Leonard's condition, it didn't take long for him to begin manipulating his amnesia to his advantage. The whole murder of Jimmy was simply a plot to gain a large sum of money in the form of selling drugs. As audience members, we have only witnessed this murder, but clearly there has been at least one more in the past, leading me to believe that Teddy was deceiving on several ocassions. Another main character that sympathizes, yet manipulates, is Natalie. In order to achieve Leonard's assistance in the capture of Dodd, she provoked an attack by Leonard in insulting his wife. Moments later, when he had forgot the punch, he was led to believe that Dodd was responsible. This very deception is what will unfortunately lead Leonard to make the same mistakes; those in the misinterpretation of his wife's death and the continual tracking down of more victims who he thinks are murderers.

Chris S.
6th hour

Tayis Lawson said...

well i have to say that this was so confusing to me, like the whole thing that happen with jimmy and why did leonard kill him.also how did leonard got involved with Natalie. and also he had a tattoo that say don't pick up any calls but they didn't refer back to that later in the movie. so my other question is that, is teddy a bad cop and try to help leonard or he just want the money from the back of his car(jimmy's car) that's why he follows him everywhere?
Tayis L
hour 6

Unknown said...

The one part about Momento that i still don't understand is about how the whole story about Natalie and her boyfriend come in. I don't understand why the boyfriend Jimmy is involved it just kind of seemed like extra information that doesn't really need to be there. But i also might have missed something in the movie that explains that. Also I thought it was really cool how the whole story about Sammy Jenkis is supposed to actually be leonard. It ties into what Leonard said at the end of the movie, that memory is not a record and also when Teddy said that you lie to yourself to be happy. I liked how that was put into the movie.

Unknown said...

The one part about Momento that i still don't understand is about how the whole story about Natalie and her boyfriend come in. I don't understand why the boyfriend Jimmy is involved it just kind of seemed like extra information that doesn't really need to be there. But i also might have missed something in the movie that explains that. Also I thought it was really cool how the whole story about Sammy Jenkis is supposed to actually be leonard. It ties into what Leonard said at the end of the movie, that memory is not a record and also when Teddy said that you lie to yourself to be happy. I liked how that was put into the movie.


Erin S
Hour 1

Unknown said...

I think the only reason why Natalie and Jimmy were involved in Leonard's story were because Teddy, the cop, wanted Jimmy dead because he was a wanted drug dealer. Teddy tricked Leonard into killing him and then Leonard took his coat and found the coaster with Natalie's message on it. What I don't really understand is at what point and why Natalie took Leonard to her house and helped him/manipulated him. She just met him in a bar and then the next scene he's like at her house talking to her? I also liked the whole ending reveal, and Teddy's lines about how everyone lies to themselves to be happy. The whole Lenny/Sammy thing was also pleasently surprising! Usually I'm pretty tuned in to what's going to happen in a movie, but this one caught me off guard. Though I guess it's pretty hard to predict a movie that's working backwards.
- Olivia K
Hour 1

Joe said...

I disagree with both Josh and Chris, that we should be able to trust Teddy's words. Teddy has manipulated Leonard and took advantage of his issue. Teddy was a drug dealer that used Leonard to make some money. You cannot trust someone that is using someone that has a disability. Also, Teddy continued to stay in Leonard's life when he could have left. He could have been wanting to make sure that Leonard didnt find something out and if he did, then he could change it. I dont think that you can trust Teddy's words.

Joe S.
6th Hour

Jack said...

I also agree with matt and beleive that it was Teddy who was calling Leonard. I beleive this because again the manager told Leorard that it was a cop waiting in the lobby. I also think its teddy because he is one of very few people that actually know where he is staying.

hour 1
Jack S.

Dani Beutell said...

In agreement with Olivia, I also thought that Teddy's point about how people lie to themselves to be happy was quite interesting. I like how the ending has valid support for both possible resolutions (that is, if Teddy is lying to Leonard about the situation or not). He could essentially be contradicting himself. If he's lying, he could be justifying his own motivations to lie, to make himself more happy, to make his own situation better. On the other hand, his final speech could be revealing the reality of Leonard's whole life post-incident. This was one of the first movies where I believed both resolutions to the film, I like that!

Kevinb said...

Building off of what Isaac said I definitely believe Teddy was the cop that was talking to him the whole time. First I totally agree that if it has to be Teddy because there is no one else and there is no way in a movie that ties it self together like that that there would be a loose string like that big. However, I don't think that Teddy was doing it just out of the kindness of his heart. In reality he was having Leonard do the dirty work and then taking in the profit. We know this because Teddy said that he had set the meeting up as a drug deal so that they could take in a little money on the side. He even says that Leonard isn't a killer and that's why he is so good at it which I think hints at Teddy using Leonard to kill people.

Kevin B
Hour 1

Kelsey said...

I agree with Kevin. I can't understand why Teddy was so helpful to Lenny. It doesn't make sense that he is just trying to help Lenny because he read about Lenny's life and problem. I think this is proven when Teddy is sitting in Lenny's car after a time at Natalie's. He seems really upset that Lenny was there and staying there. Then he proceeds to guilt trip Lenny into finding his own place suggesting The Discount Inn. I feel like there is another reason why Teddy is using Lenny not just to kill people. Another thing that confused me in the movie was Natalie's character. She seemed so innocent at first only for us to realizing she's very manipulating and almost rude. I think she has some other reason for being in the movie and in Lenny's life.

Kelsey R.
Hour 2

Unknown said...

I believe that Teddy was the man on the phone with Leonard the whole time because Teddy seems to know so much information about Leondard and Sammy, theres no way it wasn't him. I also agree with when he says that Teddy was one of the few people that knew where Leanard was and the fact that he just happened to be the cop waiting for Leanard in the lobby.
I also like Eva's point about Leanard's tattoo possibly meaning that he killed his wife instead of John G. Both are possible

Lauren D
6th hour

Tom.o said...

I don't think we're are ever supposed to truly know if Teddy was telling the truth or if he was lying. Most of the plot in this movie revolves around that one scene. Which I think is intentional on Nolan's behalf. Because he made it so vague and gave us clues that could lead us any way, we focus on it. This scene is also the epitome of the films theme. Again, Nolan's genius is at work. He makes sure that we focus on this scene so that we can at least realize what the theme is. And really thats all Nolan wants, he wants to get a point across. Memory is in the eye of the beholder, nothing more. The mind sees what it wants to see, feels what it wants to feel. Our subconscious has more power over us then we think. That, i believe, is what Nolan wants us to see. So, it doesn't matter wether Teddy is telling the truth or not, he's just supposed to make us start to think about Lenny's memory and in turn our own.... I think Teddy was telling the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth... Even though i did just try to prove that it doesn't really matter.....

Kyle Y said...

I agree with what Olivia said about why Jimmy and Natalie are involved in the story but have a little bit more to elaborate. To me, Teddy is just a dirty cop who is overcome by his own greed. While he may have started out helping Leonard he eventually found out that he could manipulate him for his own good just like Natalie did. So being a cop, he could be assigned to all the cases where Leonard kills people and pass them all off as drug deals gone wrong then take all the money Which is what it seemed like happened with Jimmy. It seemed to me that Leonard had met Natalie and Jimmy before the scenes in the movie. Jimmy definitely at least knew of Leonard because he called him "that memory guy." Then after Leonard killed him like Olivia said, Natalie had given Jimmy the note which was in the pocket of the jacket that Leonard took. I would assume that Natalie had heard of "the memory guy" also and so took him back to her place in order to manipulate him as well.

Kyle Y. 2nd hour

kelseykd said...

In following with Dani's comment, there are both solutions to the story because of Teddy and the drug deal, viewers can believe that he is bad and is just using him, but then also from the other ending Teddy could be telling the truth because there is no real reason to lie to Leonard because he is not going to remember it, and even with his photos people can easily mess with them.
Kelsey D.
Hour 1

Unknown said...

I agree with what kyle said about teddy on how he was a selfish cop who used leonard for his own greed. also both teddy and natalie manipulated leonard because they both knew that he wouldn't remember it.
towards the end of the movie the film starts to make you realize that teddy is telling the truth and thats what i believe after seeing how leonard is able to supress his own memory.

Jordan said...

After reading Kyle's comment I would have to agree with most of what he said. It seems to me that the general consensus of this movie is that Leonard is constantly being used by other people, and that no matter what he does he can't get out of it. He is so consumed by getting revenge on his wife's killer that he is willing to believe anything and do anything if it will get him closer to solving the murder. As for the end of the movie, I think Teddy made the whole thing up. He was put at gunpoint, and had to think of something to get him out of the jam that he was in. His story doesn't seem to match up, and unfortunately any memories that are shown by Leonard can't be trusted because he is constantly talking about how memory can't be trusted and showing it through having the same memories in a couple of different ways.

Jordan B
hour 2

Hamish said...

I thought that Teddy's explanation actually made a lot of sense and I believe most of it. How else would he have the picture of Lenny pointing at his chest and smiling, if it wasn't after he killed the person that raped his wife? I also belive how Teddy told Lenny that he is actually Sammy and that the real Sammy was a con man. It makes sense that Lenny should remember more about his wife and the situation than he does and it seems that he is psyching himself out and doesn't want to remember. I still don't understand what exactly happened to Lenny's wife....

Hamish W.
Hour 1

James Dean said...

One part that is still conufsing to me is why at the beginning or technically the end of the movie they go back to the place where leonard kills jimmy?
I think Teddy is telling the truth. I believe this because lenny is a violent person. For instance the scene where he kicks the crap out of Dodd, how does he know hes supposed to beat the crap ou of him? For all he knows hes breaking the face of his best friend. Lenny is just out looking for someone to kill because of the pain caused from the loss of his wife. Lenny is a sociopath end of story.
James Dean hour 6

Greg Yessam said...

Greg Massey
2nd hour

I loved Memento because of its insightful view on the nature of Memories. I thought the Sammy Jenkins story was especially interesting. Also my view on it was that when Teddy said there was a Sammy Jenkins that was a faker, that was also Lenny and that when they are talking about conditioning that Lenny started out faking his condition and did so for so long that eventually he became sick for realzyz. Also this movie is very much like the original trilogy of Star Wars in that the protagonist is constantly discovering things about his family just like Luke. Also when they hear things bad about there family they try to supress it (No Luke, I am your father. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO [Jump down Shute]).

Unknown said...

I do believe that Teddy was telling the truth but I also believe that he made his intentions towards Leonard a bit more sincere then they actually are. Also due to the fact that while Teddy was being interrogated, he came up with valid answers very fast. He could've thought this all through before, but I still don't believe that he was lying. I also believe that Leonard somehow mixed up himself and Sammy Jankis. In the flashback that is repeatedly shown, Leonard pinches his wife while in reality, he was giving her an insulin injection. His mind chooses to believe that it was actually Sammy, this helps him justify his own actions.
The only thing I'm confused about is in what way exactly was Sammy Jankis a con man and why.

Trace Brandt Hour 6

Unknown said...

I think that Teddy was the man talking to Leonard on the phone through out the movie because Teddy of all the information teddy knows about Leonard and Sammy. I also thought it was interesting how Sammy Jenkins story was supposed to be leonard's story. i didnt understand how Natalie and her boyfriend came in to Leonard story though.
suzie h
hr. 1

Arman S. said...

I think that Teddy truly used Leonard to do his dirty work for him. Teddy is a cop, but a really dirty one, and I think that he wanted this drug dealer dead, but couldn't kill him because thats clearly illegal, so he used a man with a severe disorder to do it for him. Lenny, not knowing any better (clearly because of his brain damage), committed the murder thinking that Jimmy was the man who killed his wife (as led on to him by the bad cop teddy). Teddy used a man who couldn't do any better for his own good. I think if there were to be a labeled "antagonist" in this movie, it was certainly teddy, regardless of who John G was.

Arman S

Hour 6

PAIGE! said...

i dont understand how Natalie related to Leonards case either. Was she supposed to be a prop for getting information from? But as an audience member, i liked how Leonards story was the same as Sammys. At the end of the film it all came together for me and it made me like the movie that much better because i think that Leonard made up Sammy, or the seriousness of his case.

Paige B
HR 2

Jack Sundberg said...

I agree with arman, to a certain extent. I agree that Teddy was using Leonard to do his dirty work, but I also think that Leonard manipulated his past memory to create the lie that someone (John G), had raped and murdered his wife. Basically I agree with what Teddy said to Leonard in the last scene of the movie (That Leonard created his own belief that someone had killed his wife, when really Leonard himself over-injected his wife with insulin).
Jack S
Hour 2.

J Jesperson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quinn said...

Ok I know what Teddy did with jimmy Grantz was wrong. I mean after all he was the only one who listened to Leonard when Leonard says there was a second guy. So is he really the bad guy of the film or someone who is simply taking advantage of an opportunity to make a man happy and to make some money?

Quinn Deeds

Period2

J Jesperson said...

i think natalie is simply an opportunist who is using leonard for her own objectives and advantages. The scene where leoarnd pulls up in Jimmy's car, natalie does not seem upset that her boyfriend was most likely killed, this implies that she was only using him as well and thus does not miss him.

Jcmoney said...

I think that Teddy was right in the end. The whole movie, the audience was trained to trust the decisions of Leonard, and for that reason only is why some people still believe Leonard's side of the story. Teddy was probably telling the truth at the end, because when he tells Leonard that Leonard has been messing with his own memory all this time, Leonard chooses to ignore these comments and burns the photographs of what he just did, in order to start all over and go for another John G. The fact that he burnt the photographs just proves that anything in the film could just be what Leonard wants to be true, when Teddy actually knows what is true.
John C.
Hour 6

Unknown said...

I feel like this movie can be judged/looked at both ways on who to believe who is telling the truth.
On one hand i feel like everyone is in on just "screwing" with leonard because there are bits and pieces of the movie that just confuse you dealing with leonards past. Also is Teddy really the killer of leonards wife?. That part confused me at the end of the movie. Throughout the whole movie Teddy seemed to be a bit shady towards leonard. Therefore i believe that Teddy is the liar and Leonard is just a very confused man himself.

Arivain said...

I think towards the beginning of Lenny's story, right after his wife was killed, Teddy might have had theright idea about helping Lenny avenge her. But more towards the end, right before he was killed, Teddy was just a bad cop trying to use Lenny to make some money. -Question: Did Lenny never look in his trunk? He would be very confused as to why there is an empty gun and (probably still) $200,000. Maybe he just didn't think of it..?

Arivain said...

Patrick D

6th hour

Unknown said...

I also agree with Jack and Arman. Lenny was used throughout the film by multiple people. Teddy used him to kill Jimmy. Natalie used him to try to kill Dodd. She took advantage of his memory loss by pretending that Dodd attacked her while her injuries were from when she provoked Lenny. Even the hotel manager takes advantage of Lenny because he checks him into multiple rooms at the Discount Inn.

Unknown said...

I believe that Teddy was telling the truth when he told Lenny the various stories because Lenny is going to lost his memory in just a few short moments anyways, it would not even be worth trying to come up with an entire false story to tell him. Also, as the audience, we are in the position to believe Lenny and what he thinks but if we think about it, how can we trust someone who doesn't even have a memory of more than a few minutes? I think that Teddy is telling the truth to Lenny but also that he is using Lenny and his revengeful power to make a profit and kill others. I believe this because at the end of the movie, the man that Lenny was led to kill by Teddy had a bunch of money in his car and Teddy knew that and wanted it. So for these reasons I believe that Teddy tells the truth to Lenny in these stories but that he twists certain situations so that he can get Lenny to do what he wants.

griffin said...

At first i was convinced teddy was the killer. All of the facts started to add up. He also just looked as if he was a pedophile. Towards the end of the film i started agreeing with teddy and moving towards his side.

Unknown said...

i really thought teddy was the killer because he was helping leo kill all those guys. but teddy knows a lot about leos wife and that she had diabeties. When Leo tried to point the gun at teddy he did no reacted to stop him or kill him in the first place. So Teddy could be telling the truth and be right about Leo killing his own wife.

cj duffey said...

In the whole movie I did not believe Teddy. For example, at the end of the movie he tells Leonard that Jimmy was John G but that was the wrong guy. I believe Leonard was telling the truth all the way through the film.

Unknown said...

I still don't know if teddy was a good guy or not and if natalie was a good girl or not either...
But I still wish that he is a good guy and that natalie is a good girl too because I feel like leonardo gets used by so much people in this movie just because of his condition that he can not create short term memories.
It shouldn't be something that he should be used about.

Meg K

Hour 1

Claire V. said...

For awhile I was unsure whether I believed what Teddy said at the end or not. When he was first telling Lenoard the story about how they had already killed John G. but Lenorad doesn't remember, I began to believe him. I think the writer of the script wanted Teddy to be a persuasive person to both Lenoard and the audience but we are also able to make the aquisation that he shouldnt be belived. When I began to put the pieces of the story together, the more and more I thought about what Teddy said, the less I believed him. The thing that made me for sure not believe him was the fact that why would he tell this story to Lenoard once and NOT have him write it down, with him knowing about his condition. I thought if he wanted Lenoard to live a normal life, like a good guy would want for him, he would make sure somehow that Lenoard would remember. The fact that he told him this story ONCE (at least to the knownledge of the audience) shows that he has other ideas on his mind and that he is using Lenoard. Lenoard is seen as an easy target to get used for like when Natalie lies to him about the injury she actually recieved from him, and the guy at the Discount Inn who had two rooms rented out to Lenoard. This is what happened with Teddy too and it can be seen throughout the entire film, so I am convinced that Teddy DID kill Lenoard's wife and has been using him to his advantage.

Claire V.
6th hour

Unknown said...

Natalie in this movie is very manipulative and is only using Leonard for her own objectives. Natalie isnt disturbed by the fact that Leonard pulls up in Jimmys car, we see that she used him. We see that she used him to get rid of Dodd, as well as take advantage of his memory loss.
Zander A

Unknown said...

I love this movie and it gets better everytime i watch it. I started to notice different things when i watched from a student point of view as compared to just another viewer... I would like to put my point of view out there about if teddy is lying or not... i feel that teddy is telling the truth because he trys to warn lenny a few times and lenny ignored it because he made himself not trust teddy by writing on his picture. Teddy had no reason to lie to him at the end and he said everything with so much detail and cofidence that i find it really hard to beileive he made it all up on the spot..sure he tryed to use lenny a few times but he had nothing to gain from telling lenny a lie.
Tom b.
hr.6

Brianna Y. said...

I really enjoyed watching the film. It was very catching. At the end of the movie, i wasnt too sure who i should believe. Teddy had made a very convincing arguement, but since the begining we were led to believe not to trust him. I believe him. The reason why is because the only reason leonard wrote that is because he was mad at him. I do though, believe that teddy had alterior motibves and he shouldnt be fully trusted.

Brianna Y
6th hour

Teddy Puckett said...

The scene in which Leonard thinks he is chasing Dodd, only to find out that it is really the other way around, is a key example of the situations of immediate physical danger that he can fall into while he is not keeping his condition in check at every second.

Teddy P.
Per. 6

Nicole G said...

The events and action that take place in the film Memento seem to revolve around Leonard’s memory dysfunction. I am currently an AP Psychology student and have concluded that upon hitting his head on the floor, Leonard injured his Hippocampus. The Hippocampus is the area of the brain responsible for the consolidation of new, short-term memories, or in other words changing short-term memories into long-term memories. The movie portrays an injury to the Hippocampus mostly correct. It is true that Leonard would have no control over forgetting things stored in his short-term memory and would be able to remember things stored in his long-term memory, prior to his head injury. And, though this was an argument in class, the fact Leonard forgot that his wife had diabetes is characteristic to an injury to the Hippocampus. Although most information stored in the long-term memory would still be present after an injury, there is still chance that some long-term memory loss will occur. Also, it was brought up in class that Leonard may be faking the extent of his memory loss due to the fact that he remembered that you must burn Polaroid photos in order to destroy them. If at any time there was some emotion evoked in Leonard when he was burning photos, the memory of how he went about destroying a photo would have been stored in the Amygdala, which was not harmed in his injury.

Nicole G
Hour 1

- Carter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
- Carter said...

I found it hard to believe that Teddy was actually a cop, or at all truly ever associated with the police. The seen where Leonard first meets Teddy in the lobby of the hotel, Leonard asks him if he's the cop. Teddy hesitates for a brief moment, looking back at the hotel manager to check if he is aware of the conversation, it's only after that that Teddy claims to be an officer. I was also confused as to the reason for why Teddy tells Leonard that they don't know each other in the last scene.
-Carter G
6th period

Nikolai said...

I completely agree with carter above. If teddy was lying about jimmy what else could he be lying about? I also find it hard to believe Leonard on account of his condition. You really want to believe that Leonard remembers his past well enough to be telling the truth

Nikolai said...

I completely agree with carter above. If teddy was lying about jimmy what else could he be lying about? I also find it hard to believe Leonard on account of his condition. You really want to believe that Leonard remembers his past well enough to be telling the truth

Alex Abernethy

Sammy S said...

dear mr. klobs,

reallly sorry this blog is late.

What I find most interesting about this story is Leonard's tattoos, i find that they mess with the timeline. First, when did he get them? Right after his wife died? Days after? Years after? I feel they mess with what the director is trying to convey. Not to be a stickler, but I think there are some mix ups. I also think that it's easier to believe teddy than not, when thinking about this movie i explored all the possibilities that "teddy" had. I understand that Leonard does to things that can be interpreted to keeping this cycle going, but I thought of it as him erasing the bad actions that he's ashamed of. Teddy showed Leonard a bloody picture of himself and the one of dead Jimmy. It's no doubt that Leonard has been manipulated, even by those that he supposedly could of trusted, but I find it hard to believe Teddy's statement when he's lied to Leonard this entire time. One logical, twisted statement happens and we the audience are expected to believe that the rest of what teddy is saying is true? I'm skeptical. Another point of Leonard's is that although memory is gone his instinct still remained. When Teddy says Leonard's wife had diabetes, Leonard's instinct says she didn't. But this scene can be interpreted in two ways. First being instinct, he is sure that she didn't have diabetes. Second is his other theory, that one can create new memories, in that Sammy Jankis's wife is the one with diabetes. I am still deciding on which opinion I side with today.

Sammy S.
Hour 2

Unknown said...

I didn't really like how this movie ended because it was too confusing for me to understand. I liked that it went in reverse chronological order, and it really had to make you think while you were watching it to try and understand it. I'm still not really sure who is the murderer, but I think both Teddy and Leonard are capable of doing it.

Molly E.
Hr 1

Taylor said...

I'm not exactly sure what to make of Teddy and his actions. Teddy seems to understand the extent to Leonard's condition, which confuses me because I don't understand what person in their right mind would hang around a ticking time bomb like Lenny. In the scene at the end of the movie, Leonard is very aggressive and violent (and also in complete denial of what Teddy is telling him) and aims a gun at Teddy and storms out and drives away in his car, leaving Teddy. This obviously happened a good deal before Teddy's actual murder, so I don't understand why a person who sees and experiences signs like these would continue to follow Lenny around at the stake of their own life. One aspect of the film that I pondered for a while was why Leonard burned the pictures at the end, when it seemed out of character for him to do so. I finally concluded some explanation to understand his selfish actions. First, he wasn't getting any satisfaction from killing each "John G." and the fact that he couldn't remember it or make it stick drove him nuts, since he wanted to believe that it would make such an impact on him that it would stick. It's like when you're trying to do something and you do it over and over but you can never get it right, you usually get frustrated and eventually give up. Burning the pictures was his way of getting back at his condition because he had reached that breaking point. He was sort of saying "Ha, I'll show you" to his STML, but in reality he selfishly overlooked the fact that (or didn't care) he was killing people in order to rebel against his problems.

Taylor said...

above comment:

taylor t.

hour 1

Chase Nelson said...

I thought that the end of the movie or the beginning of the story was a good twist to the film. I believe what teddy said and i think that lenny has conditioned himself to forget his wife. Just because of the fact that lenny doesnt want to hear it he decides to target teddy, without this twist to the story the whole movie is impossible.

richard bacon said...

Err... I'm a little late on this conversation. But I have read some things about Leonard being in the hotel and being kept there. As the manager holds calls from Leonard and reportedly being contacted from the cops. I believe Teddy is partly responsible for this since he was a Cop at the time Leonard went for vengeance. Where he kind of using keeping a close eye on Lenny as he runs around town being manipulated by Natalie and Teddy wants to catch her. Teddy seems to be hiding the truth from Lenny and also use him to catch people like Natalie is. I don't know if this sound right but it kind of came of my head when I finished it... Well good twist and it unravels all the manipulative characters dirty secrets... I think..

Richard N 2nd hour.

Andrew D said...

I liked the movie Memento, like most of the class. It is confusing in a good way and makes you think. I couldn't figure out when things happened and what was really going on. I like that way of organizing a movie, because it isn't your average movie and it is a unique way of writing a script. It all hangs together pretty well and has good continuity. It is surprising with good acting. Teddy seems kind of fishy, but it turns out he is telling the truth. Everything in the setting seemed to fit the movie. The motel room set was creepy, and the black and white added to it. This was a great movie!


Andrew D
hour 6

Ross W. said...

I think Lennys condition makes for an extemrly intersting plot device, but at the same time I feel im left constently trying to poke holes in the plot. One such hole is Leonard's short-term memory seems to last a couple of hours. At one point at the Discount Inn, he checks into a room calls an escort service, waits patiently for the escort to show and is able to explin in detail what he wants, then goes to sleep. Yet twice (when natlie spits in his beer, and when she lies about Dodd) Natalie gets him to hit her by saying some down right terrible thing about his wife then goes out to her car for less than a minute, then returns knowing he won't remember her maliciousness. He doesn't and also when natlie fisrt sees him in her boyfrinds car and clothes she dosnt really seem to care, but mabey thats because she puts 2 and 2 together and assumes teddy used him but I dont know.


Ross W.
Hour-6

matt p said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
matt p said...

I was very fortunate to have seen this movie prior to viewing it in class. The first time I saw it I was confused myself, as I see some people are by skimming through the comments. I was aware of the storyline and the twist at the end but I didn't look as in depth as I did the second time. For instance, I never noticed that Lenny could be sammy. I thought it just was a story about memory relating to himself the first time I saw it. That blew my mind. Also the second time I saw it I realized how ignorant and naive Lenny really is. That he cannot face the truth so he keeps on covering it up only to start over the next day. I feel like this is a hard movie to fully understand with only one viewing unless you pick up on small details easily, but none the less it's become one of my favorites.

Matt Porter
Hour 1

skiier said...

im still confused on the movie, i thought it was really good but its still hard to understand who you should really believe just based off the pictures that lenny has. other then that it was pretty good i also didnt understand what was happening in the scenes when it turned to black and white, i couldnt keep up with him on the phone and keep the rest of the story straight. i like his tattoo that he has to read in the mirror thats pretty cool. tattoo (lady?) looked pretty wierd though...
nick g
hour 1

Unknown said...

I personally found the movie to be really good and I also love a movie that'll keep you thinking throughout it. I loved how all the scenes were separated by the black and white clips. The chronology of the scenes was confusing to follow at first but then after the first few it was really easy to follow and begin to connect the dots. When it comes to the ending, I believe Teddy but only to a certain degree. I still don't get how Leonard could completely forget about his wife being diabetic. That would be a part of someone that you'd really need to remember. And plus, in the police report wouldn't it have something in there about her health and what not? I don't know. But I don't believe that Leonard was responsible for his wife's death.

Jessy R 2nd

Colby C said...

To the last comment, I personallly believe that lenny's wife was not diabetic. It was teddy's lies that made his memory change. This scene is just showing the suseptibility of the memories of the human mind. its how vulnerable our memories are and how if we tell are selves something repeatedly we begin to believe it. By Teddy telling Lenny that his wife was diabetic, Lenny began to believe him because his memory is so vulnerable and suseptable to change after his accident. We see this when it shows him giving his wife insulin then the next clip is him just pinching her. I stil however think that Teddy is the one who raped and murdered Lenny's wife. Teddy seems to fly under the radar. It feels like he's constantly up to something. Like how Lenny will get in a car and he'll come out of nowhere and start talking to Lenny like he's been there the whole time. Overall I thought this was a really good movie, definately top of my list, who would have thought we could watch such a good movie in school?

Funkwell Douglasson said...

Sorry colby, I must dissagree. Leonard's wife is totally diabetic. The final scenes between Teddy and Leonard lead us to the conclusion that Leonard killed his own wife. Leonard then gives himself a clue that would later cause him to kill Teddy. By doing so he lives his life with a sense of purpose. If not bound by revenge, what reason does Leonard have for being alive?

French Toast said...

Well Mr. Funkwell, your are correct in the statement that Leonard's life would fall apart if not for his endless desire for revenge, but i do believe that Teddy is the killer. Christopher Nolan gives us the two perspectives on the insulin with the pinch and the actual shot. But wouldn't a man with only the memory loss from the incident remember that his wife has diabetes? It's not like diabetes just comes and goes and people forget about it in everyday life, it is a serious disease that Leonard would remember if she had the diabetes.

Tommy D
1st hour

Hunter Carrico said...

I think I can answer some of the Questions some people have asked. Lenny went to meet Natalie because they were not his clothes. They were Jimmy’s and in the pocket was the coaster which Natalie wrote to Jimmy to meet her in the bar, and since Lenny does not have short term memory he thinks that he needs to meet her. I am wondering if Teddy at the end was telling the truth or not, because if you go back there is enough information to prove that he is telling the truth and also that he was lying. And I also want to know what happened to Lenny after all this happened.

Anonymous said...

i think people need to stop trying to figure out which way the story really happened because the director clearly left it open. where you could interpret it in many different ways. I think it clear though that Lennie was picturing himself in his flashbacks. But we are not certain enough to know if he killed his wife your not. i think we should enjoy the movie for what it is. not hurt our brains thinking about it.
Bobby V
hour 6