Is Memento as good as we remember?
Critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife return to Nolan’s pre-Hollywood work
Later this month, audiences around the world (including—though this is less certain—some in the United States) will finally lay eyes on what once looked like the movie event of the summer, Tenet. In honor of the belated release of this time-bending thriller, we’re spending the rest of August talking about the filmography of its celebrated director, Christopher Nolan, who’s become possibly the premier blockbuster craftsman of the new millennium. Today, to kick off our four-part series, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife are returning to Nolan’s pre-Hollywood work: his scrappy directorial debut, Following, and his big breakthrough, Memento. How well do these nonlinear indie noirs hold up two decades later? Let’s discuss.
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