Memento Opening

Memento is Christopher Nolan's first full length feature film starring Guy Pearce, about a man who has anterograde amnesia (the inability to form new memories), so in an attempt to find the people who attacked and killed his wife he has to take photographs and have tattoos to recall his recent actions.

Camerawork

• When we see the title of 'Memento' on screen, the opening shot of a close-up of a polaroid is shown. It shows what could be a figure of someone and a wall with blood splattered all over it behind them. This is a very effective and dramatic opening shot as it shows something very graphic and gruesome in just a polaroid, and the audience also questions who took the photo, why they took it and who is currently holding it.
• The next shot is a close-up on the person holding the polaroid, and as it is edited backwards it looks as if he is putting the picture back in the camera and taking a photo, all in reverse. His movements are well choreographed so his actions are very fluid.
• After he takes the photo, Guy Pearce's character (Leonard Shelby) is revealed, and the shot finishes close-up on his face. We know he will be a central character as this close-up builds intimacy.
• He puts the camera in his pocket, close-up with shallow-depth of field, but as it is in reverse it looks like he's hiding something. It cuts back to the close-up of his face.
• We then cut to a close-up of blood running along the floor. This could be seen as the victim's POV, especially as it filmed sideways and the camera is so close to the ground. 
• Then we see a close-up of a part that has fallen from the gun, and then a close-up of the victim's glasses, splattered in blood and finally a close-up of the back of the victim's head, also covered in blood. The camera looks down on him, emphasising his vulnerability. These three shots make us feel very uncomfortable as we see this brutal aftermath, and the lack of sound and stillness in the closed shots also makes it difficult to watch.
• The camera looks up at Guy Pearce's character, showing his overriding power in the situation, and in reverse he picks up the gun, and the camera tilts down as we watch him aim the gun at the victim. The objects shown previously begin to move back towards the victim, and before the scene cross-cuts away we quickly see the victim turn to camera with the glasses back on his head and shout in distress. 

Editing

• The editing is very slow-paced at the beginning as the opening shot of the polaroid fades in and lasts for 1 min 15 secs. 
• This entirety of the opening is edited in reverse, so we see the consequences first and the action of the murder last. As the first shot shows a polaroid fading away in reverse, it reflects the nature of Leonard's amnesia, and how his memories quickly fade away like in this first shot. 
• The director chose to use straight cuts and continuity editing, and faded in the opening shot to also mirror the idea of fading memories.
• The editing remains slow-paced until the last few seconds when we quickly cut between the gun and the man being shot, making the action seem desperate and impulsive. 

Colour and Lighting

• Lighting in the opening is very low-key, and there is only one main 'natural' light source from outside through the only window in the room. This means it only strong light source falls onto one side of Leonard's face, implying that he is two-sided or needs to hide big parts of himself. 
• The dark lighting allows large, atmospheric shadows to be cast over the objects on the floor in the scene.
• The colours are very grey and muted, which allows the blood to stand out. 
• The blue titles are a bold contrast between the blood in the photo and the muted colours.

Sound

• The non-diegetic soundtrack is eulogistic in style: at first it seems melancholic, reflecting and looking back on a death of someone, but as this shot continues it feels more contrapuntal to what is on screen as the sound is sad but the image is brutal and gruesome.  
• There are diegetic sounds of the camera and the flash that are in reverse like the other editing, and after this the music fades away, which allows us to focus on Leonard's actions. This silence can also make us feel very uncomfortable as we are unsure of what ay happen next. 
• At the end of the opening, we hear the reverse sound of the objects moving backwards, and as this happens non-diegetic sound is added, like a build and crescendo, to lead to the moment of Leonard shooting him. 
• The sound of the gunshot and the victim shouting in distress before he's shot are the loudest parts of the film so far, which again emphasises violence of the murder.

Mise-en-scene

• The attack happens in what looks like a room of an abandoned building, which shows the rawness of the situation. It seems like this is going on behind closed doors, like it's a dodgy encounter. We also question how they possibly could've ended up in this room.
• Leonard has cuts on his face, which implies he has been in a fight before. He also doesn't even flinch when he shoots the victim, which shows a sense of normality to the action, that he has done it before. This is also shown through his costume- he carries a polaroid camera in his belt, which shows that he is using it to record other events that could be similar to this.