Well, I never. If there's one new-ish motion picture in cinematic history less poised for a remake, it's Memento. Who on Earth has sanctioned this unholy act? How has Christopher Nolan (who directed the original) allowed this? Why would anybody in their right mind go ahead with a remake of a film that is less than 15 years old and is perfect as it is? The culprit is a company called AMBI Pictures, who just acquired the remake rights and have set about with their evil plans to do exactly that. "The bar is set high, but we wouldnt want it any other way," said Andrea Iervolino, who runs the company with Monika Bacardi. The original movie was based on a short story by Christopher Nolan's brother, Jonathan, which concerns a man named Leonard (played brilliantly by Guy Pearce) who - whilst suffering from a rare memory condition - attempts to track down the man who murdered his wife. The film - rather uniquely - unravelled in reverse order, and it arguably stands out as Christopher Nolan's best movie to date (yes: even better than The Dark Knight). There is no reason for Memento to get a remake. There is nothing to add or to reinterpret. A second attempt will - without question - pale in comparison to the original. The only remedy against this awful announcement is to induce severe memory loss on yourself in the hope that you wake up and forget that it's happening. Go on: bash your head really hard.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
