Title is a working title.
Earlier this year, I decided to edit a chronological version of Memento for myself just to see what it would be like. Watching the chronological cut, I was struck by many aspects of it, particularly watching Leonard wander into danger, but I realized that it didn't work very well as a movie, with the dramatic reveals happening in the middle instead of the end making that aspect of the movie a lot less compelling. Then I started thinking, what if there was a way to edit the movie so that it would have both the mystery of finding out the reason for the events shown in the movie, as in the theatrical cut, and the dramatic tension in wondering what's going to happen next, as seen in a chronological edit? This edit is an attempt to do that.
In my edit, both the black and white and color segments are presented in chronological order, though the color segments start with the second-to-last segment (as presented in the theatrical cut), with the final color segment changed to black and white. The movie cuts between these two sections, with the color segments following Leonard's search for John G while the black and white segments fill in the blanks and the backstory and eventually reveal how and why Leonard found himself in his current situation. Several of the segments have been stitched together to improve the flow.
I want this edit to stand on its own and work for a hypothetical first-time viewer (leaving aside the unlikelihood of a first time viewer actually watching it), so I've also trimmed some parts at what is now the beginning that I think in the new sequence would be too obvious hints towards the big reveals, as well as some of the exposition at what is now near the end of the movie. I've also created a slightly different ending using footage from the end of the theatrical cut, but now in a different context. The list of changes besides the general resequencing are as follows:
A rough cut is available for previewing. PM me if you want to preview it and give feedback.
Earlier this year, I decided to edit a chronological version of Memento for myself just to see what it would be like. Watching the chronological cut, I was struck by many aspects of it, particularly watching Leonard wander into danger, but I realized that it didn't work very well as a movie, with the dramatic reveals happening in the middle instead of the end making that aspect of the movie a lot less compelling. Then I started thinking, what if there was a way to edit the movie so that it would have both the mystery of finding out the reason for the events shown in the movie, as in the theatrical cut, and the dramatic tension in wondering what's going to happen next, as seen in a chronological edit? This edit is an attempt to do that.
In my edit, both the black and white and color segments are presented in chronological order, though the color segments start with the second-to-last segment (as presented in the theatrical cut), with the final color segment changed to black and white. The movie cuts between these two sections, with the color segments following Leonard's search for John G while the black and white segments fill in the blanks and the backstory and eventually reveal how and why Leonard found himself in his current situation. Several of the segments have been stitched together to improve the flow.
I want this edit to stand on its own and work for a hypothetical first-time viewer (leaving aside the unlikelihood of a first time viewer actually watching it), so I've also trimmed some parts at what is now the beginning that I think in the new sequence would be too obvious hints towards the big reveals, as well as some of the exposition at what is now near the end of the movie. I've also created a slightly different ending using footage from the end of the theatrical cut, but now in a different context. The list of changes besides the general resequencing are as follows:
⦁ Used VFX to remove "6" from Leonard's note to "Tattoo: Fact 6," to fix plot hole where Leonard hadn't looked at his tattoos to see how many facts he had already tattooed on himself when he wrote that note.
⦁ Cut "Giving you a load of crap about John G being some local drug dealer, Jimmy Grantz." from Teddy in the tattoo parlor.
⦁ Cut Leonard meeting Natalie outside the bar and Natalie mistaking him for Jimmy.
⦁ Cut "Your pocket?" from Natalie in the bar.
⦁ Cut Leonard hanging up the phone and getting called back in B&W segments, to make it flow better.
⦁ Cut Leonard picking the wrong room and accidentally knocking someone out at Dodd's motel.
⦁ Cut "But they weren't even looking for John G. The stuff they found in the car just fit it with what they believed had happened, so they didn't chase any of it up." from Leonard in B&W segments, in order to better stitch two segments together.
⦁ Cut Natalie asking Leonard to tell her about his wife at the diner.
⦁ Trimmed exposition about Leonard's condition when he talks to Burt in the motel lobby.
⦁ Reversed backwards footage from the opening of the theatrical cut to show Leonard shooting Teddy and then taking a picture of the body.
⦁ After Leonard takes a picture of Teddy's body, the movie cuts to Leonard driving away from the derelict building, using footage from the ending of the theatrical cut. This is in color, so it takes place after Leonard shot Teddy. To preserve continuity, some shots are cropped so you can't see the intact driver's side window of the car. The part where Leonard stops in front of the tattoo parlor is removed, and instead it cuts to credits as Leonard is driving along and looks at something up ahead, with his narration saying, "Now, where was I?"
⦁ Cut "Giving you a load of crap about John G being some local drug dealer, Jimmy Grantz." from Teddy in the tattoo parlor.
⦁ Cut Leonard meeting Natalie outside the bar and Natalie mistaking him for Jimmy.
⦁ Cut "Your pocket?" from Natalie in the bar.
⦁ Cut Leonard hanging up the phone and getting called back in B&W segments, to make it flow better.
⦁ Cut Leonard picking the wrong room and accidentally knocking someone out at Dodd's motel.
⦁ Cut "But they weren't even looking for John G. The stuff they found in the car just fit it with what they believed had happened, so they didn't chase any of it up." from Leonard in B&W segments, in order to better stitch two segments together.
⦁ Cut Natalie asking Leonard to tell her about his wife at the diner.
⦁ Trimmed exposition about Leonard's condition when he talks to Burt in the motel lobby.
⦁ Reversed backwards footage from the opening of the theatrical cut to show Leonard shooting Teddy and then taking a picture of the body.
⦁ After Leonard takes a picture of Teddy's body, the movie cuts to Leonard driving away from the derelict building, using footage from the ending of the theatrical cut. This is in color, so it takes place after Leonard shot Teddy. To preserve continuity, some shots are cropped so you can't see the intact driver's side window of the car. The part where Leonard stops in front of the tattoo parlor is removed, and instead it cuts to credits as Leonard is driving along and looks at something up ahead, with his narration saying, "Now, where was I?"
A rough cut is available for previewing. PM me if you want to preview it and give feedback.