The Making of Memento

by James Mottram

A behind-the-scenes look at the cult film that's taken critics and audiences by storm.

Christopher Nolan's Memento --the deceptive, ambiguous tale of a man with short-term memory loss consumed by the need to avenge the rape and murder of his wife--has already been hailed by critics as "a new classic" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone ), provoked more discussion than any other film of 2001, and in a near-instant established Nolan as a major player in the industry.

In The Making of Memento James Mottram aims to take the reader--backwards, of course, like the story's structure--through the complete process by which this watershed film was brought to the screen. Utilizing interviews with Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan (author of the short story on which the film is based), as well as members of the cast and crew, including Guy Pierce and Carrie-Anne Moss, Mottram details life on the set and the experience of filming. He also looks at the critics' reactions, explores the film's themes, and discusses its place in cinema history. In addition, a full set of credits is included along with a plot summary and the complete text to the original short story, as well as a look at the process by which it was transformed into a screenplay.

All totaled, The Making of Memento is the perfect companion to what is sure to be regarded as one of the first great films of the new century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2002

Reviews

[johanna (jo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

of course it's BACKWARDS i'm so mad

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was worried in the early going of this book as it delved into the multiple, contradicting theories about the plot of Memento, which vaguely felt like I was reading fan fiction or some random internet comments. But the meat of this book is the in-depth coverage of all aspects of the movie from pre-production, scripting, casting, cinematography, sound, location scouting, editing, etc. based on candid interviews with all the key participants. Not for the casual fan, but if you finished the movie, mind racing and wanted to consume everything you could about the movie, this is great. Also includes Jonah Nolan's original short story that the film was based on. For a fun game, check out the imdb credits for the cast/crew before and after they worked on Memento.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful for anyone doing research on the film. More about the crew and practical aspects of filming rather than analysis of the film itself.

[John Funderburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot more thorough than I expected it would be. There are some great insights to be found. And the inclusion of the original short story at the end was a treat.

[Ghd · Rating 4 out of 5]

this movie is interesting to some extent but also misterious and diordered to some extent at the end it wasnt clear enough to know if (guy pears)is gulty or sik or is really looks for criminal that killed his wife and make him with no actual memory(his memory was maximum five minutes).
But the movie making is very good and the director & editor did thrir work very accurately.