Memento

[jack]

There are some thoughts about the meaning of the film, though I doubt they will make any sense if you haven't seen it.

There are many analyses on-line, but I will try to set things down for my own satisfaction.

• The events in the time-span of the film are uncontroversially established and AFAIK all make sense within themselves. However, the events before could nearly be anything. It's like the film is a self-contained slice of time, unconnected to anything before or after. Which of course, is exactly Leonard's experience, that it is trying to convey.
• Everything in the film is an extrapolation of the earliest scene, except possibly Teddy's behaviour and a few memories, so everything else is consistent with any interpretation.
• Did Teddy set Lenny up to kill Jimmy, the drug dealer with a name that fit the killer's? Everything says yes.
• Had he done similar things before? It seems likely.
• And he is definitely fucking with him. However, does he care about him too? I instinctively think not, but I think he's portrayed as having some sympathy, and there would be no reason to show that if it weren't true, and most people who spend time with someone will come to care about them in some way, even if they're using them.
• Along with himself, and other people, but perhaps a bit more, I want his quest to be going somewhere. I would like to imagine he eventually succeeds and settles down happily. However, I can't justify that. Spoilers from the website definitely say his wife died later, and then he was in an asylum and escaped. And most of the clues we think point to the killer appear during the course of the film.
• The most optimistic interpretation was that there was a John G. who attacked his wife, and he already killed him. Several clues point to this. It's not necessarily the case, but I think it is the simplest explanation.
• Did he kill his wife? Either it happened as he remembered, or he or someone else killed her violently later (or she just died), or the insulin incident was actually about them, and he conflated memories he didn't want with Sammy. This last has many hidden hints in support, and it may be meant to be left ambiguous, but if it was deliberately intended. So if I could choose, I would say no, but in terms of what's most likely 'true' I say yes.
• How much of Sammy's story is true? I've mentioned the insulin. Was he faking the illness? Or was he entirely fictitious? I'm not sure. I'm inclined to guess he was real, and was faking the illness, but I don't know. Whether his wife was actually Lenny's wife is the important question for Lenny.
  
• One problem with theory is that it requires him to remember something after his accident. But we know he's trained himself to remember some things, eg. the illness itself, with repetition. I would rather believe otherwise, but it seems consistent that he could have altered his original memories by repeated deluding himself.
• Where did the name "John G." come from in the first place? It seems most likely it was made up, but it could be either way. If made up, by accident, or aimed at Teddy for some reason? Could Teddy have been the original killer after all? Conceivably, but there's no reason to think so.
• Is his condition psychological? There are some hints, but it seems most natural it's exactly what he says. Certainly throughout the film he demonstrates that he mostly *doesn't* remember minute-to-minute things, but *does* remember habits.
• What now? It seems most likely Leonard will go on as he has been, driving around, living from moment to moment. Maybe he'll invent another quest for himself, maybe he'll erase the tattoos and write something different. But I hope he'll be happy.