Memento is a 2000 American psychological thriller and neo-noir film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It was adapted from his younger brother Jonathan's short story, Memento Mori. The movie is presented as two different sequences of scenes: a series in black-and-white that are shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order. The two sequences "meet" at the end of the film, producing one common story. It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia, which impairs his ability to store new memories. The opening credits show the end of the story, when Leonard commits murder. Thiskilling is probably Leonard's revenge for the rape and murder of his wife.
Memento premiered on September 5, 2000, at the Venice International Film Festival to criticalacclaim. It received a similar response when it was released in European theaters starting in October 2000. Critics especially praised its unique, nonlinear storytelling structure and its treatment of the themes of memory, perception, grief, self-deception, and revenge. The film was successful at the box office and received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Original Screenplay and Film Editing. It didn't win any Oscars, but won 13 awards for Best Screenplay and five awards for Best Picture from various film critic associations and festivals.