What detail should I be looking for in Leonard in Memento to determine the plot?
I have watched Christopher Nolan's Memento more than once and I still can't get the real thing that happened. Yes I get that the movie is shown backwards, but it really confuses me.
I understand that Leonard Shelby has amnesia which makes him unable to keep new memories. What is the key detail in Mr. Shelby that I should be looking for to understand the ending scene?
Best Answer
You need keys. We need to help Teddy to find his keys! :-)
Joke aside, you should give attention to what Teddy says directly before the linked video.
Teddy: "So you lie to yourself to be happy."
and later:
Teddy: "Yeah I guess I can only make you remember the things you want to be true. Like Jimmy down there."
Leonard: "He's not the right guy."
Teddy: "He was to you. You got your revenge. Enjoy it while you still remember."
and sometimes later (that's in the linked video) Leonard is thinking:
"Do I lie to myself to be happy? In your case, Teddy, yes I will."
as he is writing down Teddy's license plate to form a new clue tattoo.
Also take notice of the memory of his wife in the scene where he is driving to the tattoo parlor--especially note the chest.
On his chest is tattoed "I've done it." while is wife is alive.
So, what do we make out of all this?
Everyone is using Leonard - including himself. He fudges his informations to stay on a constant path of Revenge. That is the thing that makes him happy. Probably it's because he killed his wife with an overdose of insulin, a story he attributed to Sammy Jenkins. He can't stand that, he needs to see "Johnny G." as the guilty for the death of his wife, although she survived the assault and rape (as his memory in the car-drive-scene shows).
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What is the actual plot of Memento?
The story follows Shelby, who has a short-term memory loss following a break-in at his house that gave him his "condition" and also his wife was raped and murdered. Leonard has been chasing the guy who did it, but his search is complicated by the fact that he can't make new memories since the accident.Who is Leonard looking for in Memento?
Aided by Teddy, Leonard seeks to find a "John G.", one of the criminals that attacked him and murdered his wife prior to the events of the film.How does Teddy use Leonard in Memento?
Teddy had set up a sale of amphetamines with a dealer named Jimmy Grantz, and was going to use Leonard to kill the dealer so he could take the money. Leonard got scared over the phone, but Teddy used the picture of him after he had killed John G. to get back in touch with him.\
More answers regarding what detail should I be looking for in Leonard in Memento to determine the plot?
Answer 2
If you notice carefully (I had to pause the DVD for this) - for a fraction of a second, there is a scene in which Sammy Jenkins is sitting in a chair and for just a fraction, he turns into Leonard.
(see at 0:25)
A more detailed explanation is here.
Answer 3
Leonard is Sammy Jenkis - or is he?
That's the point.
Much like the end of Inception - we never see the top stop spinning - so is Cobb still dreaming?
Answer 4
I think he at least planned on getting the I've Done It tattoo to remind himself once he had finally killed "john G". If you remember the photo Teddy shows him where he is smiling after getting his revenge, he is pointing to that area of his chest.
For those saying he got the tattoo removed, it would make sense that he get the Murdered part out of the John G Raped and Murdered My Wife Tattoo as well.
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