Memento Memento is a psychological thriller.

It is a thriller because it had the typical conventions of a thriller with the protagonist and antagonist, motif, mysterious and thrilling. Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes: a series in black and white that are shown chronologically and a series of colour sequences shown in the reverse order. The two sequences 'meet' at the end of the film, producing one common story. During the opening credits of the film, the only sequence to be played backwards is shown. It starts with the developed polariod photograph of a man shot dead. As the sequence plays backwards we are shown the photo reverting to its undeveloped state, entering the camera, being taken etc. as the credits end we see the protagonist shoot a man in the head.

The opening as low key lighting to set the mood and start building the terror of the film. We can see blood in the picture so we straight away think that the guy holding the picture is the antagonist however he is not, he is just trying to get vengence for the death of his wife but the audience wont understand till later on in the film. The use of point of view shot on the photograph helps the audience see things from the protagonist point of view in the opening sequence although they wont decide whether they should sympathise with him, it just sets the anxiety and the auidence wants to know what will happen next. The editing techinque of the picture fading away as he shakes it and then the scene starts to rewind, reinforces the way this character will be presented. As someone who can see something at a particular moment the suddenly memory fades away and they live there life backwards in reverse to others reinforcing his illness amniseia, that he mentions during the course of the film. Which makes this film a pyscological thriller because we are looking into the mind of someone with amniseia and the way the film goes backwards and fowards messes with the audiences mind and keeps them in a plot-twist till all is revealed at the end of the film.