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Key mise en scene • The establishing shot of a hand holding a Polaroid photograph. The photo shows a bloody wall, which is shocking and unsuspected. Immediately, the audience knows that a murder has taken place. The shot only shows a hand (presumably a man’s), but no face. The effect is that straight away the audience become curious as to who is holding the photograph and that they are somehow related to the murder. The background is green like trees and nature. This is suggesting how perhaps murder is just a way of life and is natural in the film. Another interpretation is that because nature and purity contrasts with brutal gore and mess, it is signifying that the film will contain many surprises for the viewers. • It is also noticed (more so a few minutes later) that the man holding the photograph has writing on his hand. This could imply how this character is forgetful, and so has to leave himself reminders. However, once he is seen in full we notice that he looks like he is important or doing business because of his suit and shirt, and so it seems unprofessional for him to write on his hand. This indicates that he does not always follow strict guidelines, or that he is not officially doing actions for business purposes. • A black and white filter is used of the killer, the lack of colour could reflect his lack of emotion and feeling after he has murdered a man. As he stares directly at the camera, his face is half lit and the rest is in complete darkness. The lighting could be to confuse the audience as to if he is the protagonist or the villain/criminal. His facial expression makes him look troubled, perhaps he is worrying about the crime he committed previously. An alternative interpretation is that he appears threatening, like a warning sign to the audience that we should not form a connection with him. • The shot of the Polaroid photograph of a man smiling, and underneath it is written “Teddy”. At the start of the film, Teddy was killed by the man. The name Teddy has connotations of teddy bears, being cuddly and affectionate. Also, it makes him seem innocent and so the audience begins to wonder if Teddy was killed for no justified reason. Also, the photograph is next to some American dollar bills on the counter, suggesting that perhaps Teddy is a materialistic character. Another interpretation is that perhaps the man killed Teddy because he was part of a money based crime such as theft or ransom.
Key sound and music • The film begins with violins/string instruments, the music is soft and sorrowful sounding as we are looking at the bloody photograph. This could indicate that the person holding the photograph is also looking at it, the music is reflecting their emotions. Therefore, the anonymous character is feeling upset and ashamed due to this murder. • The man screaming before he is shot, the sound is loud to drawn attention to his fear. His scream is the queue for a jump cut to the next scene. Because of this, it is like the scream is the conclusion to the opening sequence, and that anybody who comes into contact with the killer will end up feeling terrified or distressed. • The non-diagetic inner monologue of the killer. His voice wavers and so he seems unsure and confused as to how he ended up in a motel room. Because even he does not know what is happening, it is definitely confusing the audience as well which could suggest that the scenes to follow will be unclear. Also, it could be to indicate how he perhaps has an issue with memory (Amnesia, Alzheimer’s…?) and so we as the audience have to be responsible in observing what is happening onscreen and paying attention. • Leonard’s car revving in the drive, the sound gets louder before the car starts to drive. Just before this sound, the dialogue demonstrates how Teddy is teasing and taunting Leonard for his mental disability. Because the car engine revving sound is used after this, it could be to reflect Leonard’s increasing anger towards Teddy for making harsh comments about his memory.
Key camerawork • An extreme close up of the killer’s face, slowly tracking upwards from his chin to his eyes. This shot slows down the pace of the film from the previous scene of the murder. It could be to reflect the man’s thoughts or concentration, and so it is prompting the audience to also think and mull over what had just happened. • The close-up of the photograph of Teddy, ironically perhaps to suggest that the audience should be more attached to him than Leonard. At this point we do not know who is innocent or not, and so it could be the case that Teddy is in fact a vulnerable target for a killer. However, the close-up could lead the audience into having sympathy for the not-so-innocent Teddy, deliberately leading us in the false direction. • When Teddy is seen at the glass in the background, the camera pans quickly from Leonard to Teddy. This demonstrates that Teddy is a catalyst for pace of the scene to increase, he is obviously going to cause conflict in some way. Leonard is physically closer to us than Teddy, to remind the audience that we should remain emotionally closer to Leonard. At this point, we assume that Leonard killed an innocent man, and so we are confused as to if his intentions were morally right. • The camera tracks Leonard from behind as he walks towards Teddy at the door. As his back is to us, it could be to imply that he is blocking us and so we are distanced from him. However, another view is that we are like a supporting role for Leonard, following him as a friend figure.
Key editing • The way in which the opening sequence appears in reverse of how it was filmed. The effect of this is signifying a rewind in time or a flashback to the murder that is in the past. Also, as we later discover that the killer has issues with memory, it is like he is recalling the event in his head starting with the most recent part and working backwards. The technique of playing the film backwards is startling to the audience, suggesting that the film will deliberately try to confuse the audience and make them piece together the events for themselves. • A jump cut is used from the man screaming to an extreme close-up of the killer. By doing this, it is like we should make a link between fear (the scream) and the killer, suggesting that he is liable to cause terror in the storyline. • The film then jump cuts back to full colour shots, making a clear distinction of time and place in the film. This is done to indicate to the audience that the colour film is of the past in which Teddy was killed by Leonard, and the black and white filter is used for the present. This is ironic in that the audience would expect the filters to be the other way around, and so it is implying that the film will break stereotypes and typical expectations. • A reaction shot is used of Leonard holding up another Polaroid photograph of his car to Teddy. In the previous shot, Teddy said “Yes, this is your car” in a patronizing and domineering way, like a child would speak to an adult. However, the reaction shot of Leonard shows him holding up the photo like a detective would show his license, in a confident and authorative way. Although Teddy may seem to be the more powerful character here, the film makers are trying to show that despite Leonard’s mental disability, he still is the superior being.
