Nolan Fans

Sorry if this has been posted or if it's just a stupid question, and maybe this is because I don't really understand how short term memory loss works, but how can Leonard remember he has a 'condition' to begin with?

No, it's not a stupid question, although the "default" reason that the movie's detractors give as to why the movie is one huge plot hole.

As I see it, the effects of brain damage aren't black and white, especially since Leonard has his amnesia from trauma. There are only two or three real-life examples of human patients with anterograde amnesia, and I know that two of them basically had their entire hippocampus taken out. H.M. (the most famous) was apparently aware he had memory impairment, but Clive Weaving does not know. He does somewhat remember very emotional events in his life after his illness, like his brother dying. He gets sad when someone mentions his brother but he doesn't know why. Weaving's memory is also extremely bad - he only remembers 7-30 seconds at a time. He still remembers how to play piano and conduct even though he doesn't remember that he went to school for it. He even forgets that he was making music at all right after the piece ends and he basically goes into fits for several minutes afterwards. The brain is a really strange thing.

So...yeah. Realistically, it depends on how Leonard's brain was affected by the injury and how much it managed to recover.

Thanks for the reply! Very helpful! :mrgreen:

It's been so long since I've seen this movie, and everything clicked so well when I saw it. Ugh, definitely have to see it again.

JRM wrote:, but how can Leonard remember he has a 'condition' to begin with?

thats what i thought

Because he can form new memories, it just takes a while. One thing about Memento is that the whole thing may not be true. Teddy is helping Lenny because he thinks Lenny's wife was actually raped and murdered, and that Lenny's been looking for the killer. Teddy thinks that actually happened, because Lenny thinks it actually happened; but given Lenny's problem of believing whatever he writes on himself, and that he can be conditioned into believing anyhting to be true, his whole backstory may just be completely fabricated.

boxyloxydigi wrote:Because he can form new memories, it just takes a while. One thing about Memento is that the whole thing may not be true. Teddy is helping Lenny because he thinks Lenny's wife was actually raped and murdered, and that Lenny's been looking for the killer. Teddy thinks that actually happened, because Lenny thinks it actually happened; but given Lenny's problem of believing whatever he writes on himself, and that he can be conditioned into believing anyhting to be true, his whole backstory may just be completely fabricated.

no it isn't
at the end Teddy says

Just because he killed people called John G, doesn't mean a John G actually killed his wife.

boxyloxydigi wrote:Just because he killed people called John G, doesn't mean a John G actually killed his wife.

JRM wrote:

boxyloxydigi wrote:Just because he killed people called John G, doesn't mean a John G actually killed his wife.

Why would the movie claim he kill someone named John G, and not explain to us why?

Leonard only has planted information to go on. There's nothing to say whether that information has to be true.