Memento - Analysis

Memento

This thriller is called 'Memento' which is an object kept as a reminder or a keepsake of a person or event. There are no special effects used throughout the opening of 'Memento' except for the titles fading in and out. The non-diegetic sound is orchestral with violins and cello's to create a suspicious atmosphere as they usually represent mysterious moods and events. The only diegetic sound used is paper being moved to convey a character whom is lonely and acted alone as there are no other sounds in the background. If there were police or forensics, there would have been other diegetic sounds such as footsteps. This makes the audience feel more suspicious and think that it is the killer who has taken the photo of the murder as a 'memento'.

The opening 1:10 seconds we're shown the same photo of the crime scene held by what appears to be a male's hand. The opening titles are presented over the image of the murder scene. As we are unaware of who is looking at the picture, a point of view shot is used to make the audience feel anxious and want to know what will happen next. The photograph we are presented with in the opening is a picture of a murder, which doesn't show who has been murdered. The colour presented on the photo is red to show the blood which makes the audience feel uncomfortable as they are introduced to the theme of the film from the start. The character shakes the picture which makes the audience feel that they are about to discover who has been murdered however, it does the complete opposite and the photo becomes more blurry which shows the audience that the photo was developed using a polaroid camera. This creates an enigma of who has been murdered  and who by which engages the audience as they become aware that the picture has been developed very recently as it's still fresh. This would suggest that the murderer has taken the photo or the police. The fine details of the photo become less evident which implies that it is trying to go back in time to show that a crime too place. This helps to build suspense and curiosity, alerting the audience that the narrative for the film is to solve the murder. 

The opening sequence is in a very different order to most thrillers as it tells the audience that the film is going to be about whats happened before the climax of the murder has been shown to build the narrative. A close up shot of the blank photo being put into the camera is the complete opposite of how a camera is normally used. In this shot you are made aware that the first character introduced is male as he is wearing a blue shirt and grey suit jacket. The camera pans up towards the characters face, however he is blocked by the camera that he is using to take the photo we were first introduced to. Then rather quickly we are shown the mans face. The diegetic sound of the camera flash draws the audiences attention towards the fact that this is who has taken the picture. The close up shot of the mans face is used to portray a fight has previously taken place as he has a cut on his face with blood dripping off of him. This could make the audience see him as a victim who has just used self defence or on the contrary, it could make them view him as a suspect of murder which in this case seems more likely as he is photographing it. A close up shot of the character putting away his camera is used to explore the idea that the shots are being re-wound in order to show the audience what really happened. As we see what happened, an enigma is created as to why he shot the man and if it's a psychological thriller which is the reason why he did it because he is mentally ill.

This scene has a variety of close ups for example, the blood of the person that has been murdered is dripping down the wall. This makes the audience feel disgusted and creates a frightening atmosphere. This could make the audience feel more anxious as to how the person has been murdered. Another close up shown is of a bullet lying on the floor to make the audience aware that he has been shot. The third close up shot is of glasses suggesting that they belong to the person that has been murdered. The final close up shot is of the dead mans head at the back which hides his identity to leave a sense of suspense. This makes the audience question why he has been killed. 

An asynchronous soundtrack is playing while these shots are being shown and an eerie sound builds up to create tension. There is a diegetic sound of the character getting the gun which he had thrown on the floor in reverse. The 3 close ups tell the story of the process leading to the murder.  This informs the audience that the character holding the picture that we were introduced to at the beginning is the killer and he used a gun to murder the man. These shots let the audience know who is the killer from the beginning of the narrative, making the audience now more anxious about why he had done that and linking back to the title of the movie, whether the picture is his memento.

At 1:45 seconds the script begins with non-diegetic sounds of what sounds like heart beats. The script increases the suspense as it's the character asking himself questions such as "Where am I?" and answering his own questions for example "You're in some hotel room". This makes the audience feel tense as they imagine that they're in this characters situation. This confuses the audience as the he's talking to himself. Point of view close up shots of different areas of the room are used to show his confusion which we gather from his constant looking around with uncertainty. This creates unease for the audience as they try to work out what he's doing there. A high angled shot of the character lying on the bed suggests that he's being watched to create an eerie atmosphere. These scenes are shot in black and white which reflect his emotion of guilt after the murder. The mise-en-scene shows that he's got nothing as there are no clothes on the hangers and his desk is empty. This would suggest he doesn't live there or he just hasn't been for a long time.

The scene changes to a coloured setting in a completely different environment with bright lighting which creates a happy mood. A close up shot of money and a picture of a man being pointed at with the dialogue of "this guy", then a mid-shot of the "killer" character we were first introduced to. This could mean that the film is about how and why the man was killed. Being introduced to another character wearing the same glasses as we were shown a close up shot could suggest that he is the one that gets murdered.