The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: Memento

written by Christopher Nolan

At first glance Memento might seem to be without traditional dramatic structure, so different and circular are its storytelling strategies. However, this is not true. This "puzzle movie" stays true to the principles of traditional storytelling, which again attests to the power and flexibility of the paradigm.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook (0)
    • A man asks himself, Where are you? He has a Polaroid of what appears to be a crime scene. He has scratches on his face.
  2. Complication (7)
    • The man has no short-term memory.
  3. Call to Action (15)
    • He is on a mission of revenge. He has a gun.
  4. Act One Plot Point (22, 32)
    • He worries someone is setting him up, taking advantage of his condition, getting him to kill the wrong guy. We are in a world of repetition and paradox.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point (67,73)
    • The woman who appears to have been helping him actually is using him. She even tells him so, knowing he won't remember.
  6. Act Two Plot Point (104-6)
    • He finds and kills the man he believes raped and murdered his wife. But in reality he killed Jimmy, a drug dealer, the woman above's boyfriend. A policeman (whom for a time was the prime suspect for revenge) tells him the truth: he's been lying to himself to be happy because he can't face the truth.
  7. Climax and Resolution (110)
    • The man sets up his own circular hell. He notes on the Polaroid of the cop not to trust him. He takes his murder victim's car and drug money. He sets up the conditions for an endless replaying of the same dilemma. He can't accept the truth.

Notes

This is a gripping puzzle movie that uses a very unusual story strategy based on repetition and expansion, as fragments of the story reappear, grow, and reveal their relationships to one another. The journey of the audience through the paradigm mirrors the journey of the protagonist. In the end, it's been great fun but pretty much all head, no heart, and the movie doesn't linger long once the puzzle has been solved or dismissed.

MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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