Living as Leonard

Through Memento, we experience Leonard's struggle with memory and are brought to question our own perception of memory. Leonard's story is gradually unveiled backwards. As such, much like Leonard, we have to scramble to connect dots. When he sees a note telling him to not believe Teddy and to kill him, we, like Leonard, can only trust that he's come to the correct conclusion. His note under Natalie's picture gives us very little information about her, and so we have to get to know her, as Leonard has to do every time. The movie connects its scenes by repeating portions of previous scenes. It inherently relies on our memory to connect the dots. Leonard similarly connects the dots with his notes, which give offer partial connections to his discoveries and memories from previous days. "Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car" he says. His body is covered with "facts," yet these facts offer very incomplete images. Natalie's picture, as mentioned, tells us very little about her. Seemingly less susceptible to subjectivity, Leonard is very much a victim of it. We, as viewers experience his struggle and can only watch helplessly as he attempts to piece together parts of his life.