To What Extent is Memento a Flippo (1998) Film Noir?

Brief Synopsis of Memento

Christopher Nolan and Guy Pearce on the
set of Memento.

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) has anterograde amnesia, an inability to form new memories, which he contracted from a head injury while trying to save his wife from two murderers. To his knowledge, he managed to kill one of them during the attack, but the other one remains on the loose. He believes this man to be called John G., and it becomes his main goal to find him and kill him. He has managed to create a system which, seemingly, allows him to move closer towards his goal, in spite of his condition. "Habit and routine make my life possible", he says in a voice-over. These habits include having a system of where to place things, talking to people face-to-face if possible rather than on the telephone as to be able to gauge their true intention, taking Polaroids to recall faces and, of course, writing copious notes, the most important of which he tattoos on his body so that they become permanent and cannot be lost. Leonard is not alone, however. He has many first encounters with people he has already met and who are aware of his condition. Two of these characters are a man he calls Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Ann Moss). Who they really are and their true intentions as to why they help Leonard find John G. are blurred, until the end of the movie when (hopefully, unlikely if it's your first viewing) the puzzle fits.


What exactly is Film Noir?


Is it a genre? Is it a movement? A style? Or just a fancy term that makes you sound like you know something about movies? I don't know, except that the latter is obviously a (bad) joke. In any case, there are certain characteristics which are so unmistakably recognizable, so distinct to film noir, that you will find yourself identifying a noir movie in no time.


A grim canvas
Filmed in black-and-white, noirs are distinct for their shadowy, dark images. Primarily influenced by German Expressionism, studios weren't quick to complain, as this meant less money had to be spent on lighting. Set in a nameless, timeless urban landscape, it becomes the ground for the trademark film noir characters. 





Femme fatale and male protagonist. Notice how she blows
the smoke on him, the suits, the liquor. Classic film noir.

The disillusioned antihero and the femme fatale
Film noir's protagonist, a tortured, cynical man dealing with inner demons is a staple of classic film noir. Usually a cop, war veteran or detective of some kind and a drinker on the side, he is almost always an alienated soul. He cannot help but fall for the alluring, sexy femme fatale, who will real him in, lead him into danger and then leave him astray when all is said and done.

Iconography and techniques
Always present are the cigarettes, the guns, fedoras and the three piece suits, which all work together to provide the look and feel of film noir. Close-ups, spot lighting, voice-over narration and flashbacks linking a lingering past and troubled present are just a few of the techniques used.

How do things turn out?
"Pure" film noir would not have a happy ending. A happy ending would turn a film noir into a film gris or a melodrama done in a noir style. Note: Often, the director would be one from the German school (Curtiz, Lang, Preminger, among others).

Analyzing Memento as a Film Noir

In what ways is Christopher Nolan's 2000 film Memento a film noir? 

According to Hyde Flippo, and as we have also seen earlier, a required element for a movie to be noir would be the trademark cynical, disillusioned antihero facing some kind of moral dilemma at the center of the film. Leonard Shelby, the character played by Guy Pearce, would fit the mold. Because of his condition, Leonard does become an alienated character. However, regardless of his condition, we still manage to see the stubbornness and the I-don't-give-a-damn attitude that he carries with him. Inner demons? You bet. There's only one thing on his mind: find John G., kill John G.

Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss

So, where's the femme fatale? She is the character played by Carrie-Ann Moss, Natalie. As the film progresses, we find that she is not an honest woman, and even says to Leonard in his face, "I'm going to use you". He won't remember, anyhow. She really puts the fatale in femme.

Classic film noir features the dark and shadowy images in black and white that we have already seen. You'd think this is where Memento might not cut it, but the film actually has sequences filmed in black and white, intersected in between the rest of the film which is filmed in color. They distinctly divide the story into two parts, which by the end converge.

Even in color, Nolan achieves a very noirish
looking picture through great lighting.

Here is a still of one the black and white sequences
in the film.

Flippo says that "often" the film is a crime or detective story. Do I even have to? Leonard Shelby thinks his wife has been murdered (a crime), and proceeds to track down the killer (he essentially becomes a detective by doing so). There.

The film also heavily features a typical film noir element: voice-over narration. The voice-over puts us inside Leonard Shelby's mind, a very useful (and helpful) way for the viewer to sympathize with him, particularly because of his condition, which makes us see how hard it would be to be in his shoes.

So, is Memento Film Noir?

From what we have seen, it is clear that Memento would fall into film noir. However it is important to note that, strictly speaking, films noir are no longer being made. The movies that are considered film noir, again strictly speaking, are the ones from the 1940s, 1950s and in some cases even 1960s. Many pictures released from the 1960s onward share attributes with film noirs of the classic period, often treating noir conventions in a self-referential manner. Such latter-day works in a noir mode are often referred to as neo-noirs.

Leonard Shelby, covered in tattoos.

So, where does Memento become a neo-noir? Firstly, the character of Leonard Shelby. Although he does posses the necessary traits to make him a legitimate film noir protagonist, the modern twist that Nolan and his brother, the screenwriter, give to the character is his anterograde amnesia, his inability to form new memories. This is unique to Leonard Shelby. 

Also, the iconography. Classic noirs, as we have seen, feature the cigarettes, the three piece suits, the fedoras and the guns profusely. In Memento, the iconography is played with. The character of Leonard Shelby may not carry a fedora with him at all times, but he is covered in tattoos. And all throughout the film, we are overloaded with notes, and Polaroids. He may not always where a smart three piece suit, but he tries to.

Almost a three piece suit.

Perhaps there aren't any true flashbacks, but anyone who has watched the film will agree that the sequences in black and white play and feel like flashbacks.

It's not a coincidence that Natalie, Memento's femme fatale,
works in a liquor store.

Close, Leonard, close.

From what we've seen, it seems that Memento is about as close to a film noir that you can get these days. So much about it evokes film noir. But if you're still not convinced:

"I try not to be too conscious in my influences, particularly when working in such a specific genre, because I do think the film is a film noir. People sometimes ask me if it's a film noir, as if I would take objection to that, but I don't. I'm comfortable with that."

Christopher Nolan on Memento

Secondary Sources:
The Telegraph: "Film noir is coming out of the shadows"
IMDb - Memento (2000)
Hyde Flippo: Film Noir Elements
Wikipedia: Film Noir
Quote from: YouTube: An Interview with Christopher Nolan
All images taken from Google Images.