Memento

Claire Molloy

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Paper, 160 pages, 12
ISBN: 978-0-7486-3772-0
$25.00

April, 2010
Cloth, 160 pages, 12
ISBN: 978-0-7486-3771-3
Edinburgh University Press
$85.00

Christopher Nolan's Memento (2000) is the archetypal "puzzle film," a noir thriller about a man with short-term memory loss who seeks revenge for the death of his wife. Truth, memory, and identity are all questioned in a story that refuses to give easy answers or adhere to the fundamental rules of classical filmmaking. The film makes use of audacious stylistic and narrative choices, including a unique editing pattern that produces a dizzying and highly disorienting effect.

This book positions Memento as an important independent film and uses it to explore relationships between independent, arthouse, and commercial mainstream cinema. It also examines independent film marketing practices, especially those associated with Newmarket, the film's producer and distributor. Finally, the book situates Memento within debates on key concepts such as genre, narrative, and reception.

Related Subjects

• Film

Series

• American Indies (Edinburgh University Press)

About the Author

Claire Molloy is a senior lecturer in media professional studies at Liverpool John Moores University. She is the author of journal articles and book chapters entitled "Cultural Identity and Difference in the Videogame', 'Cultural Rupture or Hybridization?", "Pet Ownership and the Appropriations of Technological Animality," "Dangerous Dogs and the Construction of Discourses of Risk," and "Dreaming of Electric Sheep: Emotion, Empathy, and Techno-Pets."

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