This is a complex story about Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man whose ability to make new memories is damaged when he is struck in the head while confronting two people who are attacking his wife (Jorja Fox) at their home in the middle of the night. He kills one of the attackers during the attack and one of the last things Leonard remembers is his wife dying. He devotes his life to finding and killing the second attacker.

Two brothers had an idea for a story. One brother turned it into the most original movie of the spring, Memento. The other wrote this short story.

Nolan was raised by an American mother and a British father, and his family spent time in both Chicago and London. From a young age Nolan was interested in moviemaking and would use his father’s Super-8 camera to make shorts. He was influenced by George Lucas’s Star Wars trilogy and by the dystopic, immersive films of Ridley Scott. After attending University College London, where he studied English literature, Nolan began directing corporate and industrial training videos. At the same time he was working on his first full-length release, Following (1998). On the strength of its success on the festival circuit, he and his producer wife moved to Hollywood.

In this in-depth interview with Creative Screenwriting, Christopher discusses Memento, from inception to reception.

Christopher Nolan’s unnerving Memento is a popcorn puzzler about memory, murder and the metaphysics of film noir, adapted from a short story by his brother Jonathan. Chuck Stephens talks with Chris and Jonathan Nolan.