The mystery-thriller genre of films, like the books, is a hit-or-miss proposition. For every good one, there's a dozen Paint By Number films waiting in the wings. Such a treat it is when this mostly tired category is revived in a fresh and tantalizing way, and Memento is certainly both of those things.

Memento is a spooky little number centered around one Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man afflicted with a rather curious disorder. An indeterminate amount of time ago, Leonard's wife was raped and murdered, and when Leonard confronted the assailant he was dealt a harsh blow that gave him brain damage. The result? His ability to create new memories has completely evaporated. Sure, he knows who he is, where he's from ("My name's Leonard Shelby, I'm from San Francisco") and all the usual stuff up until the incident. After that.. nothing.

It doesn't matter to Leonard. Though his condition is unbelievably crippling to the notion of living a normal life, he finds purpose in righteous vengeance; he will avenge the rape and murder of his wife, tracking down the Criminal Who Got Away, a man the police do not believe exists.

Living when you forget everything some ten minutes after it happens can be tough, so as Leonard says several times throughout the movie, life is only workable if you develop a system for remembering the important things. His system? Polaroids, complete with scribbled notes. He must take pictures of the motel he's staying at, what room he's in, and how to get there. He must take pictures of the people he knows (captioned with their names and vital information) in order to remember that they are important to him. The really important bits of info, the ones he can't be without -- those regarding the murder of his wife -- he tattoos into his own flesh.

Starring alongside the excellent and riveting Pearce is the ever-questionable Joe Pantoliano, as the man with two names who may be an ally, or may be the criminal he's searching for. Carrie-Anne Moss is Natalie, a guarded waitress with a shady past association to a drug dealer. She may be a friend, but the suspicion lingers: is she simply using him and his unique condition to her advantage?

Memento is at its heart a ghost story, with Leonard cast as the living revenant. His memory ceased when his wife died -- and that is when he could never again exist as a normal person. The driving purpose behind his existence is vengeance, and he knows that without this purpose, his life is meaningless. He can never truly know people, and so he essentially haunts -- drifting from hotel room to the world outside, with no mental or emotional connection to either.

The movie's only problem is with its McGuffin. The first half-hour of the movie is geared to acquaint the audience with Leonard's situation, and how he's forced to live with it. This is necessary, and fine -- to a point. Leonard constantly repeats himself to people who have heard his explanations and his stories, and we understand why.. but it goes on for too long. For the first half-hour, then, the movie becomes tedious. Only when the focus shifts from the McGuffin to the story at hand does it really get going. But when Memento does get going, you're in. Unquestionably.

See this movie. The story is a traditional one with two unforgettable twists: Leonard's condition, and the method in which the story is chosen. The movie moves backwards, you see; it begins at the end and ends in the middle. At first this is disorienting, but as the movie moves on, the cuts become quicker, and peices start falling into place.. Memento, then, finds its climax not in the typical revelation of the protagonist and the acquisition of the Criminal that Got Away, but in the midst of the story itself. The truth was staring you in the face the whole time, you just have to look at it the right way. Leonard's way.