Let’s take a look at the classical cult masterpiece crafted by the genius maestro! The story is extremely simple, but the narration is truly innovative. The protagonist suffers from short-term memory loss and seeks vengeance for his murdered wife. OK, so what's new about that? So note that he can’t make new memories. After some time, his brain erases memories of the recent events! So the obvious question is: how can he take revenge for this condition?
Let's approach the situation from a different perspective. Consider it a puzzle game:
The goal is to exact retribution; however, the constraint is that he suffers from anterograde amnesia and only knows the killer's name.
As a problem solver, the first and foremost thing you should do is figure out all the possible events based on the given facts and constraints.
As he suffers from this condition,
Will he even remember that he has to take revenge?
How would he remember the name of the killer or any other details, like an address or phone number?
Would he even remember that he had finally taken revenge?
Well, there is a natural tendency to look for a solution or workaround in a complex situation.
So he discovers his own way of survival: writing notes. Writing notes aids him in keeping track of his own and others' agendas, thereby enabling him to recall all events.
However, it's important to note that this represents a single point of failure. What happens if we misplace, destroy, or alter the notes?
This movie does not qualify as a cult classic because of its subject matter. The subject is trivial. But for the first time, some brave auteur have completely outsmart typical formulistic, boring, predictable treatment and converted a simple revenge plot into a thrilling psychological puzzle with logical reasoning and inner complexes. It very smartly depicts the confusion and emotional dilemma of the protagonist through reverse storytelling, which interestingly makes it easier for the audience to understand his thought process. Filmmakers like Nolan, Fincher, and Kubrick put trust in the audience's intelligence, unlike most of the Bollywood filmmakers. The movie is undoubtedly beyond the capabilities of the average audience, which is content to laugh and applaud mediocre, stale films. If you want to be experimental, are willing to be an active participant in the cinematic puzzle, and want to taste the best wine of intelligent cinema, then this path-redefining masterpiece is for you.
Favorite quote: ‘Memory's unreliable. Memory's not perfect; it's not even that good. Ask the police. Eyewitness testimony is unreliable. Cops don't catch a killer by sitting around and remembering stuff. They collect facts, they make notes, and they draw conclusions—facts, not memories. That's how you investigate. I know. It's what I used to do. Look, memories have the power to alter the shape of a room or the color of a car. Memory can also be distorted. They're just an interpretation; they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts.’
