In Mementos, we see a man who has lost his memory, and lives day to day using his system of notes and only trusting his own handwriting. He's looking for the murderer of his wife, who was brutally murdered and raped. Soon however, we learn that Leonard (the protagonist) is living a lie, one he made for himself, though he cannot remember making it. Leonard it turns out, ended up killing his wife by giving her too many insulin shots, because he couldn't remember that he'd already done it. He can't bare to live with this truth, so he projects the reality as a story, the Sammy story. He uses this story as an example of someone who couldn't live with their disability, someone who was weak. The fact that he lies to himself, and therefore lies to us, the viewer, is totally in theme with the course. What is the truth? If Leonard truly believes that he didn't kill his wife, that a Sammy truly exists, does that now count as his truth? Or does he need to be held accountable for his actions, even though he cannot remember. He purposely tricks himself at the end of the movie, by making himself think that Teddy is actually John G, something that we see him discover throughout the film. His 6th tattoo, about the license plate number, is all a lie, but he purposely does that. Leonard can't bare to live in his reality, so he makes up his "Facts" and plants false truths and hints to help him live this lie. Everything around him is a lie. Like with Natalie, when she gets all the people to spit in the cup, and about 15 seconds later she serves Leonard and he drinks it, I was so grossed out and felt so sorry for him. all his supposed friends actually just use him, which is super sad.
I like the idea you have that Lenny continues his life in the manner he does because he cannot live in his own reality. However, I didn't think that he was creating this whole plot for himself to cover the fact that he, as you say, killed his wife. In fact, when the scene in the movie showed Lenny giving his wife an Insulin shot, I didn't register it as what "actually" happened. I believed through the story that there was a true Sammy and that Lenny's wife was, in fact, murdered. But even though I took one small detail about the movie a different way than you doesn't mean that either of us is wrong. In fact, I don’t think the movie was meant to have one absolute scenario that should be believed as “the truth.” That way, just like Lenny, viewers are required to question what is real in the movie and what is being pushed on us by other characters to be believed as the truth.
ReplyDelete