A Few Questions About the Film "Memento".

[Siren2011]

I was wondering if anyone here knows this movie better than I do (highly likely).

SPOILERS AHEAD

These are the points I'm confused about:
1. John Edward Gammel knows that Lenny is looking for him so he could kill him, so why does he continue to stick around Lenard for the entire duration of the film? What is in it for him? He suggests near the movies end (or beginning, if you will) that Lenny should get out of town because of some BS. But moving to another country (or state, even) would be a much better idea for John himself. I guess John is a glutton for punishment or an idiot or both?

2. The end of the film suggests that Lenny made up the character of Sammy Jenkis. Why would he do that if "Sammy" was Lenny all along? One interpretation of the film is that Lenny killed his wife with the injections (just like "Sammy") and made up the rape thing to mask this traumatic event -- and ultimately, to give himself a reason to go on living. I guess there is no real answer, but i'd still be interested in hearing your thoughts about what you think really happened. It is also possible that John was lying, of course, but that is just another interpretation.

3. If the former interpretation is true, then the guy Lenny and John killed before the events of the movie was not the man who killed his wife, because HE killed his wife. That Polaroid picture that John showed Lenny after the "killing of the "real" John G" would have surely been kept by Lenny if he wanted redemption.

But it was in John's possession for some reason... Why wouldn't Lenny keep the picture? He was good at keeping all of the other notes. So maybe this means that he only kept the "memories" (i.e. notes) that gave him a drive to find unobtainable peace of mind. Interpretations are welcome. In fact, I hope to get as many on this thread as possible.

[rancor]

I remember having this film all figured out when it was first released.. It's been at least that long since I've seen it so I may not remember so clearly, but I think you nailed it 100% with hypothesis #2.

[GaijinPunch]

Why wouldn't Lenny keep the picture?

So he could do it all over again. That's why he burned it at the end of the film. To go on lying to himself, giving him another John G.

Did you watch the LE DVD w/ the bonus material? It's got some interesting stuff that opens the story up. Been years since I looked at it though.

I always assumed John Edward Gammel always stuck around as he continued to use Lenny's situation to his advantage. Couple hundred grand a shot isn't bad money.

[Mischief Maker]

I was wondering if anyone here knows this movie better than I do (highly likely).

SPOILERS AHEAD

These are the points I'm confused about:
1. John Edward Gammel knows that Lenny is looking for him so he could kill him, so why does he continue to stick around Lenard for the entire duration of the film? What is in it for him? He suggests near the movies end (or beginning, if you will) that Lenny should get out of town because of some BS. But moving to another country (or state, even) would be a much better idea for John himself. I guess John is a glutton for punishment or an idiot or both?

He's using Lenny to kill people named "John G" for his own purposes (corrupt cop). Gammel apparently helped him find the real killers years ago, but Lenny didn't remember so Gammel started using him as a tool. Lenny doesn't remember the details, as per his memory loss, but he's been unconsciously catching on to the fact that John Edward Gammel is a bad guy just like the guy in the insurance story should have caught on to the metal objects being electrified. Note how whenever he sees Gammel he immediately responds negatively.

The movie starts chronologically after Lenny kills another guy that Gammel has steered him toward. Gammel reveals to Lenny that he's been manipulating him to kill people and inadvertently lets out that he's a "John G" too, before promising that he'd use Lenny to kill again. Lenny goes off to the car alone and decides end this by killing Gammel, and leaves himself clues enough to point him toward this goal. Gammel doesn't know that Lenny is planning to kill him and is following him the rest of the movie trying to figure out why Lenny is suddenly chasing clues that Gammel didn't leave for him, only to discover at the chronological end, movie beginning, that Lenny has been chasing him.

The insurance story is true up to the disqualification. The guy was a con artist who Lenny exposed before the brain damage. After the attack, Lenny's wife did survive and he did accidentally kill her with one too many insulin injections. As you guessed, the trauma of that was so much that he mixed up the details of the 3 events to get over his own unconscious guilt for what happened. One might even say that guilt was the engine for his endless hunt much more so than revenge. It's been years, but I think it's subtly implied in one shot that after killing Gammel and putting an end to the hunt, Lenny tattoos "I did it" on his chest and has the closure he needs.

[kengou]

These are the points I'm confused about:
1. John Edward Gammel knows that Lenny is looking for him so he could kill him, so why does he continue to stick around Lenard for the entire duration of the film? What is in it for him? He suggests near the movies end (or beginning, if you will) that Lenny should get out of town because of some BS. But moving to another country (or state, even) would be a much better idea for John himself. I guess John is a glutton for punishment or an idiot or both?

The cop didn't actually know that Lenny was looking for him specifically (Lenny didn't even know it!). Lenny subtly manipulated the evidence at the end/beginning so the evidence would lead him to the cop. Throughout the movie, the cop gets the idea that Lenny is being set up to kill the wrong guy but I don't think he ever knew the target was himself.

2. The end of the film suggests that Lenny made up the character of Sammy Jenkis. Why would he do that if "Sammy" was Lenny all along? One interpretation of the film is that Lenny killed his wife with the injections (just like "Sammy") and made up the rape thing to mask this traumatic event -- and ultimately, to give himself a reason to go on living. I guess there is no real answer, but i'd still be interested in hearing your thoughts about what you think really happened. It is also possible that John was lying, of course, but that is just another interpretation.

I interpret the film such that the cop was telling the truth at the end. Lenny's an unreliable narrator. The cop had reason to tell the truth when he did. Now, the rape thing actually did happen. His wife was raped, and Lenny suffered brain damage during the attack. But Lenny forgot that his wife survived the attack. After the attack, Lenny had his memory problems, and what happened to him and his wife was exactly what happened to Sammy Jenkis and his wife. Lenny has a false memory of his wife dying from the attack and of the Sammy Jenkis story.

3. If the former interpretation is true, then the guy Lenny and John killed before the events of the movie was not the man who killed his wife, because HE killed his wife. That Polaroid picture that John showed Lenny after the "killing of the "real" John G" would have surely been kept by Lenny if he wanted redemption.

But it was in John's possession for some reason... Why wouldn't Lenny keep the picture? He was good at keeping all of the other notes. So maybe this means that he only kept the "memories" (i.e. notes) that gave him a drive to find unobtainable peace of mind. Interpretations are welcome. In fact, I hope to get as many on this thread as possible.

Why didn't he keep the picture of himself after killing John G? Possibly the cop took it so Lenny could continue doing his dirty work. Also note that Lenny doesn't have the tattoo on his chest anymore that he had gotten after killing John G. So Lenny had to have gotten it removed of his own volition, somehow. Whether he was tricked into it by the cop, or decided to do it himself for some reason, is a very interesting question.

[Siren2011]

I need to watch this movie again after reading your replies.

Lenny doesn't remember the details, as per his memory loss, but he's been unconsciously catching on to the fact that John Edward Gammel is a bad guy just like the guy in the insurance story should have caught on to the metal objects being electrified. Note how whenever he sees Gammel he immediately responds negatively. Note how whenever he sees Gammel he immediately responds negatively.

I totally missed that! Nice call. The subconscious mind is fascinating.

Also note that Lenny doesn't have the tattoo on his chest anymore that he had gotten after killing John G. So Lenny had to have gotten it removed of his own volition, somehow.

Hey, it could have been written in sharpie for the purpose of taking the picture. I doubt the tattoo artist would have etched on him with all of that blood over his body. Or was the blood on the Polaroid? I don't remember the details. *Zing!

Did you watch the LE DVD w/ the bonus material? It's got some interesting stuff that opens the story up.

I really need to check that out. Thanks, Gaijin Punch!

Couple hundred grand a shot isn't bad money.

Is that drugdealspeak or something? I'm confused. lol.

...the trauma of that was so much that he mixed up the details of the 3 events to get over his own unconscious guilt for what happened. One might even say that guilt was the engine for his endless hunt much more so than revenge.

That makes perfect sense.

[Arcatech]

sidenote here but,

I heard there is a version that runs in chronological order. This is the light blue special edition right? Is this version worse or better? I figured it would ruin the scattered nature of the original which I liked.

[Lordstar]

sidenote here but,

I heard there is a version that runs in chronological order. This is the light blue special edition right? Is this version worse or better? I figured it would ruin the scattered nature of the original which I liked.

I heard that was just on the DVD. not sure which edition. I heard about it when it very first came out on dvd there is an edit which puts it in the correct order.

[GaijinPunch]

That's the light blue LE. I have it, but nothing to play it on. PC, I guess.

I would take it, at best, that whether Lenny's wife died in the accident or not is up in the air. If we're to believe the material in the LE, then we (at least I) would assume that Lenny is hospitalized after the attack... not allowing him to give his wife insulin shots. Or, maybe they did allow a man who couldn't make memories to do something so risky to his wife? Doesn't seem plausible. But, it's a movie.