Memento (2000)

Wow... this movie is basically perfect. Also, #44 on the IMDb list. It tells the story of a man with no short-term memory who tries to find his wife's killer. That plot sounds interesting enough as it is, but it gets better--the movie is told half chronologically, and half backwards. The scenes intercut, differentiated by half being in color and half being in black & white. Many movies are told with a non-linear narrative such as this, but are told that way merely to hide something from the viewer. In this case, the viewer is subject to different parts of the story at the same time and is always trying to remember what happened 5 minutes ago--just like the narrator of the film. In this way, the viewer feels how the narrator feels; they share a common confusion. The non-linear narrative also allows for huge Shyamalan-esque twists to be revealed in the end. Truly, this is one of the most ingeniously crafted movies I have seen. The script must have been fantastic. One thing I didn't like (and don't read this if you haven't seen the movie): there was a shot of Sammy Jankins in a mental institution, and it very briefly flashed Leonard as Sammy, Fight Club style. This kind of gave away that whole 'Leonard is Sammy, and he created that character to get away from the truth' part of the story. However, it was so quick, that it would have been easy to miss. This is definitely a movie I want to watch again, though. It is kind of like the Sixth Sense in that once you know the ending, you want to watch it all again to see how perfectly everything comes together. I've always been a Christopher (and Jonathon) Nolan fan, and this movie amazes me. The fact that he created this masterpiece so early in his career is unbelievable. Next up is definitely going to be The Prestige.