Critical Studies - Editing - Memento

Blog Number Three.

Editing.

Memento/2000/Christopher Nolan/America.

Editor – Doty Dorn.

Memento is an incredible film in my eyes. It has everything I want from a film, it’s confusing, it’s thrilling, there’s drama, suspense… it’s shot completely in the wrong order… what’s not to love?

This film made a huge impact on audiences when first shown in 2000. Adapted from his brother’s short story Memento Mory, Christopher Nolan did an incredible job (and cast one of my favourite actors).

Now, in terms of editing it is a little confusing to write about but I am going to give it my best shot.

Firstly, this film immediately confuses the viewers by not only opening the film in reverse, but also continuing to do so throughout the rest of the film. This throws the whole structure of the montage technique right out of the window.

We are shown the black and white scenes in chronological order, and the colour scenes in reverse chronological order. This is quite a clever way to let us have some stability within the film and to feel like we know what is going on. But ultimately it’s the information we are given at the beginning and end of each scene that puts us in a comfort zone of knowledge.

Because of the way the film is edited we are put into the feet of Leonard (Guy Pearce) more than we think we are. The edits make us focus on the little things, noticing how characters are, whether or not our protagonist knows them, where he will know as much about them as we do about them. The only clues we have are the Polaroid’s and the tattoos on Leonards body, which we view when relevant to a discovery in the plot.

The edits make the viewers feel like they have short-term memory loss. Because we have glimpses of the present whilst remaining going backwards, only really knowing the future rather than the past we end up completely immersed in a whirlwind of memories slowly being pieced together one confusing edit after another.

In the sense of temporal continuity towards the beginning of the film the scenes are slower with fewer edits, this appears to be used in a way that helps us build on the character we have been introduced too, to get to grips with his intensity and his ‘condition’. As it gets closer towards the end of the film the pace quickens, we have a chase scene with a drug dealer and a violent confrontation towards the end. So again the director and editor have played with the fact its in reverse but have also kept a certain structure whereas we still have that climax of realisation towards the end, used in shorter edits.

“I always thought the pleasure of reading a book was the wanting to know what happens next” Leonard Shelby/Memento/Christopher Nolan/2000.

Critical Studies - Mise en Scene - Seven Psychopaths

Right, Mise en Scene.

Mise en Scene refers to everything you see from the camera in a film. It will be the props you see, the actors, the lighting, the costumes, right down to the positioning of the actors, which is called ‘blocking’.
So with this brief explanation in mind I can move onto incorporating it into a scene from a film of my choice.

Seven Psychopaths (2012) Martin McDonagh. 

Opening Scene.

Right from the start of the film it is made aware of exactly where the film is shot and set, Hollywood. The camera moves away from the huge Hollywood sign set up in the hills and pans over some beautiful scenery to the sound of two people talking about someone getting shot through the eye. There is a low light on the scenery that makes it apparent that it is early morning or late afternoon, sunrise or sunset. This is made more aware from when we are introduced to two characters standing on a wide dam where people are jogging. This proposes an assumption that the characters are there on shady business based on the ‘out of office’ hours they are waiting around at.
The characters are positioned facing the camera with mainly their torsos and heads in the shot, leaving enough room for the viewers to see past them at the peaceful surroundings. There is an assumption on the characters motivation just from looking at their clothing. They are dressed quite smart yet are acting a little shifty. The dialogue suggests that they are violent and concluding this theory they almost draw their weapons on a passing jogger. 
A third character is then introduced in a slow and subtle way through the clever choice of the camera angle. From behind the two front characters a third character is approaching in a fast walk. There is no one else around at this point so the focus is positioned on him. The clothes are basic and they are wearing a mask so immediately the director has drawn you in to a tense build up of predictability, not once does the camera move from its position. The third character shoots them both in the backs of their heads, which is very graphic as the camera is still facing the two characters, creating this feeling that the shots have been fired towards you. 

It ends the scene with the masked character throwing Joker cards from a card deck on to the bodies of the men and a still shot is performed on the masked character along with the words ‘psychopath number 1’.
If you take away the dialogue this last scene confirms that this is a comedy, the director has made you aware of the violence this film will entail and the dark humour that will follow it.
By the end of this scene it is certain that it is the morning with how quiet the surrounding area is, especially for somewhere in Hollywood. It is a peaceful time of the day, which only makes the scene more focussed on the dialogue and the appearing third character.
This opening scene is a great introduction to show off and set you up for equally shocking and hilarious scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95pXhLJFLhI