Memento was Christopher Nolan’s first film released in colour.
Nolan’s debut feature, Following, was shot in black and white. Memento, released in 2000, became his first feature presented primarily in colour, although it also contains black-and-white sequences. The film’s visual design supports its divided narrative structure.
Memento follows Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia who cannot form new long-term memories. The story alternates between colour scenes shown in reverse chronological order and black-and-white scenes that move forward, gradually bringing the two strands together.
The film was adapted from Jonathan Nolan’s short story “Memento Mori.” Guy Pearce stars as Leonard, with Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano in major supporting roles. The combination of colour, monochrome and reversed chronology is one reason the film is often cited as a key early example of Nolan’s formal experimentation.