Showing Arianna MEMENTO! | First Time Reaction 

this is Nolan's best film by a mile. a true masterpiece

whatever people say, nolan put some replay value in this one for sure

The thing I like about the construction of this movie is that by going backward, we don't have any memory of what happened before, so we can feel a little bit of what it's like to be Leonard.

I love this movie and this has been one of my favorite reactions. This movie is genius.

The genius of Memento is that at almost every moment of it you feel tense, confused, and searching for any clues without real context. That is exactly how Leonard experiences life. It’s an exceptionally written tragedy. The very structure of it makes you empathize with this man who is broken beyond repair.

I also saw this movie 15 years ago but it’s literally like I’m watching it for the first time with you guys lol so good!

It wasn't just Teddy and Natalie using Leonard. Even Leonard was using Leonard.

I knew this reaction would be a banger, but the two of you surpassed my expectations. I used to watch this movie all the time when it first released on DVD 23 years ago, but I haven’t seen it in probably 20 years. Thank you for reminding me of how much I friggen love it!

That's so awesome how hyped y'all were. The ending literally had her saying "WOOOOOOOOOW" 🤯 This was such a good movie. Classic

This was Christopher Nolan's first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It is based on his brother's short story that was told forwards, but since the screenplay was published first, they both got original screenplay Oscar nomination. Carrie-Ann Moss recommended Joe Pantaliano for Teddy after working together in The Matrix. Talk about connections.

i still love the illustration Nolan was giving us during that one video where he’s literally drawing out the timeline on this movie and it’s just amazing how much his brain was working overtime probably to make sure this was going to be as cohesive AND in-cohesive as much as possible lol. edit: i will now be using “horse knuckles” when i’m surprised lmao.

idk why people always feel the need to talk about what they think is going to happen in a movie and then miss like 6 scenes lol

The first time you watch this movie, at first you like Natalie but then you hate her because of how she treats Leonard. But let's look at things from her point of view. She has a boyfriend, Jimmy, and from everything we know it's a good relationship. Jimmy deals drugs, and Natalie helps out at her bar. Jimmy goes off to do a drug deal with someone named Teddy and never comes back. Now Leonard comes to the bar, driving Jimmy's car and wearing his clothes, saying he has no idea where Jimmy is. So of course Natalie thinks that Teddy and Leonard killed Teddy. Even when she tests Leonard in the bar (by spitting in his drink) she knows his condition is real, but he still has Jimmy's clothes and car. So she uses Leonard and his disability to get revenge on the man who killed Jimmy. She helps Leonard target Teddy for the death of his wife, but also for Teddy's death. So she manages to get one of the two men that killed Jimmy to kill the other. Yes, she says horrible things to Leonard, but he killed her boyfriend. She's the victim here.

One of my favorite movies ever. Nolan has a way of making all his movies unique experiences

This doesn’t really work for reactions. It’s a very dense plot, and you miss a lot talking over dialogue.

21:33 I like the way Leonard sloppily writes "do not trust her" at Teddy's insistence. All his other handwritten notes are neat and precise because he actually believes their accuracy. If he hadn't blanked out before scratching it out, I think would have been skeptical of the note's reliability later on. Ironically, we find out that it was actually good advice.

I pity anybody watching this movie for the first time and having to give coherent comments on it. 3:45 - quit explaining what's going on!

Love the whole crew but Arianna is hands down my fav part of this channel 🥰🥳😎

Something wrong with the upload? It seems to be limited to 360p

Holy blond Adriana 🤯

I don't believe that we should automatically believe when Teddy says that Sammy was a con man and it was actually Leonard's wife that was diabetic. While it is true that Leonard is an unreliable narrator, it has also been shown many times that Teddy can't be trusted either. It's possible that Leonard conditioned himself to believe his wife wasn't actually diabetic and to apply that memory to Sammy, it is also entirely possible that Teddy is trying to manipulate Leonard. The structure of the movie puts us into Leonard's shoes and makes us confused along the way, so I don't think we are meant to know for sure what truly happened to his wife since Leonard can't be too sure himself.

I still can't believe that, when this movie came out, some hater critics blew this movie off by saying it was "gimmicky" to play the movie in reverse, as if you could cut up any other movie in the same way for the same effect. The movie revolves around memory, so it is incredibly relevant that it's played backwards for the audience, because we experience the movie the way Lenny experiences life -- in disjointed bits and pieces, with information always missing. And the revelations are impactful as twists in the mind of the audience, as they understand the narrative as new information is provided. And it provides comedy, like when Lenny discovers he's being chased (rather than the reverse), and when he mistakes his own weapon of choice as a confusing would-be precursor to getting drunk. Those humorous ironies wouldn't exist without a screenplay catered to playing the scenes in reverse. So many contrarian critics turn themselves into fools trying to justify stupid hot takes just to sound cool.

I always loved that "can't remember to forget you" line because it really highlights the importance of time in the emotional healing process. Nolan has always had an obsession with time in his movies but this is the only one I can think of that really addresses the importance of time as a therapeutic tool while also addressing exactly how damaging it can be to an individual's psyche when they're denied that tool.

22:03 He purposefully wrote do not trust her in cursive, which isn't how he normally writes, which is block capitals. THAT is what made him decide that it was wrong and to not trust Teddy was right.

Instant like for Chad's "and I'm Maple". Glad to see you in a video again man, always enjoy your insights and commentary on film. 👍

31:43 I’d tip extra to have the actress that played Trinity spit in my drink 🤷🏼‍♂️

Still my favourite Nolan movie

Please do The Devil's Advocate next

I worked at a West Coast Video rental store when this came out on video. Everyone who worked their loved it but I remember one of the guys recommended it to a customer who we all referred to as “the movie nazi” and when he brought it back he described it as “an average movie played backwards”. My coworker who recommended it blew up at him and kicked him out of the store.

44:45 "..unnngghh wwoooww gaaaahhh _that_ was *so* gooood!!!.." ..relatable ..I love when we we get some male / female chemistry in front of the camera.. ..oh, don't worry, there's still a vast hormone gap, 2 v 1 and all.. so, you win this one, girls.. 🙃

Prestige next please!!

One thing that continues to floor me about this movie is what a strong portrayal it is of life with a mental illness. From the difficulties navigating daily life, to not knowing who is a friend and who is manipulating or exploiting you. I don’t watch it often because it cuts a little close for me, but I love it, regardless. Great reaction!

I am pretty dumb when it comes to noticing this kind of things, but even I got your new hair ... and I like it!

A hint that the Sammy Jenkins story is not true is that unlike the rest of Leonard's tattoos, the "remember Sammy Jenkins" tattoo is written in cursive, and not printed in capital letters. Leonard prints in capital letters when he adds notes to pictures of things he knows to be true, but for things he doesn't know to be true he writes them in cursive. When Teddy tells him to write "do not trust her" on Natalie's photo, he does it but he does it in cursive because he doesn't know it to be true - once he sees "don't trust his lies" on Teddy's photo he knows that he can't trust Teddy's words and crosses out "do not trust her". So what is the in-universe explanation why "remember Sammy Jenkins" is in cursive? When he got the tattoo did he still remember that it was his wife that had diabetes, and he hadn't conditioned his memory yet to think that Sammy had a wife that died? But why would he get this tattoo in cursive if he wanted to fool himself into thinking that Sammy had a wife and it was her that had the insulin overdose, and not his own wife? Would be interested in what others think. Or is my theory about this tattoo wrong?

Notice that Teddy keeps trying to get the Jag from Lenny because he wants the money that Jimmy was bringing to the meet.

I hope Mulholland Drive is on your watchlist! Another gem from 2001! All kinds of mind-f**kery!

I was so lucky to catch Memento on the big screen; that first viewing literally blew my mind. The big reveal still gives me the chills to this day. Such a good film, and an amazing calling card for Christopher Nolan.

the best thing about Memento, is when you watch it the second time.

Best Reaction video, perfect lenght also

I was once Leonard Shelby for Halloween of 2001. I bleached my hair and used various pens and markers to make the body art/text. I borrowed one of those old, foldable Polaroid cameras and went out shirtless, to a local coffee house (in Denton, Texas). A girl had me stand up and took my picture, so there's proof out there. I ended up getting a cold for a couple weeks. It was totally worth it.

Also the license plates keep changing from an I to a 1. Also JOHN's ID expires on feburary 29th. There is no feb 29th. That year is not a leap year. Also lenny is Possible serial killer.

Leonard killed Natalie’s boyfriend, Jimmy Grants, and yet she was steely enough to hold her heartache in and plot her revenge. Natalie is quite a woman. And the least guilty character in this film, if likened to Lenny and Teddy.

Natalie doesn’t have anything to do with John G. She finds out about it after she meets him. Maybe Jimmy mentioned him in passing, but he has no knowledge of the whole Jimmy G story. Leonard killed her boyfriend. And she wants revenge. Leonard puts on Jimmys clothes and drives his car. When she first meets him she thinks it’s Jimmy pulling up but instead it’s Leonard. So she uses him to get revenge on Teddy who she thinks put him up to it.

I've watched this movie 5+ times and still can't figure it out completely. Is Teddy a liar? I thought he was speaking the truth when he said they've already killed him but then he says it was his own wife that was the diabetic, and that would mean she didn't die in the attack, which aligns with her blinking under the shower curtain. So they're all just using him I guess. Really a masterpiece of a movie.

"YOU'RE a John G. So you can be my John G." Our of my favorite film lines.

I don't think I've ever been so frustrated watching a reaction, like holy shit pay attention when they're talking Jesus fuck christ

If you really think about it, Leonard could be a serial killer with no memory of his victims, who constantly reinvents the next 'one' who killed his wife.

I think TEDDY is a good guy. You can't blame Natalie for being bad , Lenny killed her Boyfriend

Arianna ... you make the hair lighter. It look very nice, bring out your pretty skin tone and smile. I always like the women with dark eyes and light hair. Ciao.

Yep, Nolan doesnt Fuck-up. Great movie. You should watch TNET...

You can watch Memento in chronological order, starting with and following all the black-and-white footage and ending with Leonard killing Teddy, then the opening credits. There's also a short story (written by Jonathan Nolan) about Leonard in the mental hospital, reading his notes ("Before you light a cigarette, check for lit ones first, stupid!"), before he escapes to the events of the movie. :)

I never thought we were meant to think of him as a serial killer or whatever. I think it's more that Teddy was so mean to him in that moment that he succumbed to rage and made a terrible decision. Imagine if you could make a decision in a moment of rage or distress and never have the ability to reflect upon it, where a normal person would recover their emotional equilibrium and let it go.

on the premier dvd release there was a way to unlock a straight-forward version of the film. i don't recommend it. it's genius as released and pretty crappy in "proper" order.

There are no continuity errors in a movie where the protag doesn't remember shit 15 mins after it happens. Nolan was meticulous in showing that.

I’ve been watching y’all for almost two years, and finally watched your Band of Brother’s vids yesterday. When they were done , I was like “damn, I wish Chad was in more vids”. Hell yeah dude

Nolan was better when he didn't have a high budget to play with.

By the end of the movie you don’t hate Natalie as much.

Imagine being this guys defense attorney when he eventually gets arrested…

Christopher Nolan is The Freshmaker.

How the hell can I be a Nolan fan but I've never seen this film???

22:33 - Me watching this reaction.

Looking good as a blond.

UH- OH It's Chad y'all!!!! ( Return of the Mack plays in the background )

I love how crazy this movie is, one of my favs. For a nonNolan, but just as mindblowing and thematically similar, you should see Predestination. Sticking with Nolan, The Prestige is another must watch.

I think this was Nolan's first, non indy big production movie, and i still say his best! So in essence, he is the perfect serial killer, who purposely forgets his life, to start over, and relive it over and over, to give himself purpose, and to forget that he accidentally killed his wife! By the way, his brother writes a bunch of his scripts!😮😮. Pro tip....the black and white is forward, the color is backwards. Theirs only 1 scene where the two meet. With him in the nursing home as Sammy 😮😮

I’m a huge Radiohead fan, but one of the biggest mistakes they made was not allowing the producers of this film to use Paranoid Android as the song in the credits. It would have fit perfectly.

Sorry if this has been said before, I'm late to the conversation. The reason he scratches out his original note about Natalie, is because he doesn't remember writing it and it's in the wrong script. It doesn't look like his writing. He made up his mind that Teddy was lying when he made the note.

This is the only film I have gone to see three times in the cinema. If you try to show this film to someone in a few months, it's one of those rare movies where the second reaction is just as valid. I think my favourite thing I got on my second viewing was spotting how the hotel clerk explains the structure of the movie. It's a line of dialogue where it sounds like he is trying to understand Leonard's condition so on your first watch it's seems natural! It's something like "I mean it's like it's backwards you know what you're going to do, but you don't know why you're doing it"

I always wondered about what happened with Leonard after killing Teddy. Does he keep his memento with him at all times and finally find his resolution? Does he turn himself in? Does he go back to Nathalie and they live happily ever after?

B&W goes forward to the end of the movie while Colour starts at the ending of the movie and goes backward to the beginning. Essentially the end of the movie is the connective tissue between both paths. Genius writing and editing.

Best movie of all time! 😍

Great reaction!

Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Batman Begins. Nolan often makes films about people who are obsessed by the death of a loved one and that obsession can be a great motivator or downfall.

i already know shes going to FLIP OUT lol..watching meow

0:02 "and i'm Maple." 😆 got me.

The way Leonard is always stuck in that state of immediate grief because for him no time passes to ease the pain, reminds me of the Netflix Daredevil's take on Frank Castle, in the trial the medical witness Nelson&Murdock call states that Castle is the same way, constantly reliving the sight of his family dying in his arms, in the state of hyper-vigilance and shock at all times, was a really interesting way to explain the character. It's a pity the solo series dropped that or downplayed it.

This movie reminds me of a band from the early 2000s called Staple, they made a song called Remember Sammy Jankis and it's an interesting look into how "Memory is treachery" and how it's so easy to let ourselves become stuck in loops of our own pain and misery simply because we're afraid to move on.

Loves to see your reaction to the crazy revalations in the end. Brought back memories how much I was blown away by it. The full script to the movie is included in the DVD extras including handwritten notes by Nolan and his on set changes. Funny thing I remember: when Lenny and Teddy talk in the diner the script had him eat a steak but Nolans note found that "too matrix-y" (the Teddy actor became a traitor in The Matrix while eating a steak). He also left a cool visual representation of the story and scene structure. Worth checking out!

10:53 that’s a pretty damn great character motivation. I’d be on a mission to avenge my wife then take myself out.

Awesome that you watched this - one of my favourite movies.. just sooo well done :) And your reactions were just

What an amazing movie, glad u watched it with Arianna. Love the reaction as always!

Great to see Chad on the reactions.

Great Great movie

Whyd you disappear from the videos man?

#DoSomeBrainPuzzles

There is a clip on RU-vid of Nolan explaining how he work this script out.

That end of film discussion was fire! I love seeing people so excited about a film they just watched!

They came out with a dvd that had a version on there that you could watch the movie in the actual order of how things happen

OH FFUU!! my ACTUAL favorite movie of all time!! it used to be my top 5, but, I recently rewatched them and this is the one at the top!!

10:41 - there was a nice episode on these phenomena in 'The Black List' season 8. Worth the watch

I've seen this movie at least 5 or 6 times and i still have trouble getting my head around it.

There's a chronologically correct version on the DVD called The Beginning of the End & it just adds fantastically to this already superb movie.

I remember seeing this in theaters and it was amazing. Still one of the best films Nolan has made.

Is Chad Left related to Maple Left?

Love seeing y’all as passionate about the mystery as i

10:06 40:10

Best reaction I've ever seen to this. Just tremendous.

This is what film reactions were made for

28:41 it’s in the way that you use it lol

Arianna's got a brain!!