Memento (2000)
Some memories are best forgotten.
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 11 October 2000 |
| Genre | Mystery, Thriller |
| Director | Christopher Nolan |
| Starring | Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano |
| Runtime | 113 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.3/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 94% · Metacritic 83/100 · IMDb 8.4/10 · TMDB users 8.2/10 |
| Budget | $9 million |
Where to watch Memento
Memento is streaming on Netflix ($17.99 a month) in the US. It is also on Prime Video ($8.99 a month), Hulu ($18.99 a month), Peacock ($16.99 a month) and Tubi. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Prime Video is $8.99 at list price.
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What kind of watch this is
Christopher Nolan’s 2000 mystery thriller runs 113 minutes, a duration that feels longer when you cannot remember why you started it. The film presents a puzzle where the solver lacks the capacity to hold the pieces together. Leonard Shelby hunts his wife’s killer while his mind wipes itself every fifteen minutes. It is a tight, disorienting ride that makes the audience work for every answer. The structure itself becomes the antagonist, forcing you to question who is being deceived.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% approval rating as of March 2024, while Metacritic sits at 83 out of 100 as of June 2025. That is high praise, but not unanimous love. James Berardinelli called it "endlessly fascinating," a view shared by William Arnold, who found it a "delicious one-time treat." Not everyone bought the structure. Marjorie Baumgarten dismissed the reverse storytelling as a "filmmaker's conceit." Jonathan Rosenbaum went further, labeling it a "gimmicky and unpoetic counterfeit." Even Roger Ebert, who gave it 3 out of 4 stars, admitted the confusion didn't enrich the experience on a second watch. The puzzle works once, maybe.
How it did with audiences
Memento cost $9 million and took in $40 million worldwide, which in Hollywood arithmetic counts as a solid win. It opened in just 11 theaters, then expanded to over 500 by week 11, proving that limited distribution can still find its audience. On TMDB, users rate it 8.2 out of 10. IMDb gives it an 8.4/10 as of February 2026. The film never ranked higher than eighth for a single weekend, yet it stayed in theaters long enough to turn a modest start into a respectable total.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Memento.
Sources
- Memento on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q190525 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Memento (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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