Christopher Nolan’s Memento is a near-perfect psychological puzzle. This modern film noir is told in backwards and in stops and starts. Scenes appear in reverse chronological order then move forward again, presenting information that is useless until another parcel of the plot is supplied. Nolan makes the chronological scene shifting an effective way to unfold what is essentially a misguided murder mystery where the hero may or may not know that his facts are not really the facts. In virtually every scene, Pearce gives a compelling, nervy performance as the man who is haplessly fanatical about his mission yet so incapable of making the decisions he needs to make. How the threads of the story are unraveled and reorganized is an impressive feat of logic minding and script continuity. This technical ploy demands the audience’s vigilance yet, in true film noir form, doesn’t reward it. In the end, it is the way the tale is told that is memorable, not the story itself.