Memento - Thoughts

The second time watching a movie really does give an alternative perspective. I had only watched a portion of the movie the first time I saw it, but all the details within that portion were revived like they were part of a forgotten dream. They became sharper, crisper, brighter, clearer. One of the first emotions I felt after completing the movie was relief; thank god this mysterious mess of clues was at an end. I was not sure how else to feel about it, of course there was also admiration, the movie is a spectacle of sequencing and chronicling time.
The usage of scenes as units of time was very fascinating. It allowed for greater fluidity, nonsensicality, imagination and possibility. What was truly intriguing was how much freedom there would be in our lives to live with such a nonlinear sense of time. There would be chaos no doubt, a recklessness would ensue, but nonetheless freedom enters the equation. I've found that even personally, I take time for granted all too often. There is no understanding of time without sequence, logic, or movement, and because of this the segmentation offered in Memento was refreshing. It made me question just how much we are all not seeing because of how we have been taught to comprehend time.
I thought the filming was very well done, the beginning shot where a polaroid photograph is being reversed in action was so exquisitely executed because it did not affect our perception of time's progression. Embodied inside the very first minutes of the movie is already one of the central thematic elements: the maniacal ability of time to envelop itself into and unto itself. The potential in this concept gives rise to the later flexible shots of time trespassing before the past into the present and ahead of the future into the unknown, and being able to manifest the complexity of this into a movie was truly impressive.
Other than editing and shooting, the writing behind the film was to applaud for. With minimal amounts of dialog, the writer(s) created a cohesive despite confusing plot that sufficed to transmit messages of faith, belief, reality, scheming, distortion, lying, turmoil, irony, and above all sophistication. The protagonist is forever unaware of his entire surroundings, contextual circumstances, or possible dangers. He relies on information fed to him by others and by himself, and the final revelation of a self constructed, self powered search for vengeance as a means to give meaning to his life leads him on a killing spree without realization but full intention. The truthfulness is not unreal, but it is not wholly certain. If he planned his journey to become a murderer but did so with good intentions, how does this affect the legitimacy of his intentions, and how does it affect the validity of his murders? Do they mean any more than they would have because he puppeted himself? Do they signify to less because the people who died played a brief, momentary role in his staged performance? Isn't there a saying that goes: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"? But what is "hell" if he does not feel it? If he doesn't even have the capacity to remember it?
"Memento" celebrates the emergence of a survivor turned victim turned survivor turned victim...