Film Openings - Memento

  We analysed three different film openings in class. We looked at how each film opening utilizes the following: typical conventions of a thriller, types of shots made with the camera, how it was edited, any sound, and the mise-en-scene.

  The first film we looked at was Memento, a film about a man with anterograde amnesia - a condition which prevents him from forming new memories - and how he finds his wife's killer. The film is shot in an unusual way as the scenes are shown back to front (the end scene is shown first, then the previous scene, and vice versa).

 Conventions used were the enigmatic photo which showed a dead man, the blood, and the gun used to shoot the dead man.

  There are many close ups in this section: it helps convey the protagonists' emotion as well as helping the audience empathize with the protagonist in terms of his constant confusion.

  Editing was done in the first few seconds of the film so as to show the passage of time going backwards. This hooked the audience, and also reflects on the protagonists' confusion. There was also a portion of the film which was filmed in black and white, so as to signify a flashback.

  The aspects of mise en scene were blood and the photos. The blood implied violence and the photos helped the audience realise what was Leonard had to do in order to get as far as he has in the search for his wife's killer.