Every Christopher Nolan Movie, Ranked

9. Memento (2000)

Throughout his career, Christopher Nolan has always been a man consumed by the nature of storytelling - specifically, how flexible it can be. With his breakout Memento, he found a perfect marriage for all his preoccupations, blending dark thrills with a time-bending narrative that refuses to give anything away until absolutely necessary.

The film sports an ingenious premise, as a man with short-term memory loss (Guy Pearce) attempts to find the person responsible for his wife's murder, tattooing his body with clues so he can keep his mission alive. It's a brilliant conceit, rife with unexpected bolts from the blue that, even if you think you can see them coming, you'll always find yourself off-target. 

Memento put Nolan on the map, its effective black-and-white production and the grittiness of its secretive characters - including Carrie-Anne Moss with demons of her own - heralding the arrival of an unconventional filmmaker who was just getting started.

Nolan has ascended new heights in the years since Memento, but rarely in a way as economical or confident as he was with this extraordinary breakout.