When I first saw Memento I noticed that Nolan alternated between colored and black and white scenes. The colored scenes are in reverse chronological order and the black are in chronological order. In my opinion I think the visual effects of Memento are genius, movies that make you think deliberate are always outstanding. What I also noticed about this movie was the cameras were just angled and focused on Leonard. You did not really get the details on his surrounds or any location that he was in. Leonard stayed at the Discount Inn, however all viewers saw in the Discount Inn was a poster board with his pictures that he took, and Dodd that he beat and kept in his closet. When I first watched the film I was not sure if his wife was really murdered by this so called John G. or was he the one who killed her himself. After watching the movie again I realized that Sammy Jankis was not a client of his, Leonard is Sammy Jankis. I believe that Leonard and his wife were attacked and that is how he lost his memory. However in the end of the movie Teddy said to Leonard your wife survived the attack, she was a diabetic. T hat is when it clicked for me.
After the attack Leonard could only remember things in ten- minute intervals. Leonard’s wife was never able to understand his condition. She would make it a point to test his memory. His wife was a diabetic and needed insulin shots everyday. Leonard remembered how to give the injections but did not know when to give it because he did not have any concept of time. Leonard’s wife took her last test to the extreme. She said to Leonard “it is time for my shot”, he prepared the injection and gave her the insulin. Two minutes later she said it again, “it is time for my shot.” She kept repeating herself until she ended up overdosing.
I believe that Lenny does not realize that he is Sammy Jankis because he cannot face the fact that he was responsible for the death of his wife. That is