Questions nobody's answered

The famous 2000 film that put Christopher Nolan on the map tells the story of a man on the hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.
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peter_c wrote:@ Tristy

No I didn't. I said he remembers his wife being attacked and he thinks she's dead. That has nothing to do with him remembering the multiple insulin shots he gave her while he had his condition. How does that answer my question?
My bad...I wasn't thinking of the OP. :facepalm:

I don't think Leonard quite remembers administering the shots at all, though. The viewer can't be sure whether that brief shot of him doing it is anymore an accurate depiction of events than the last moments of the film where we see his wife caressing his chest, which displays the tattoo "I'VE DONE IT" on his left pectoral. It's more of a what-could-have-been; a different explanation of Leonard's past that comes with a new - albeit possibly untrustworthy - revelation.

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peter_c wrote:If what happened to Sammy actually happened to Leonard, and it was Leonard who gave his wife the insulin overdose, how does he remember giving her the shots?
I guess there's no real evidence that Lenny remembered that his wife was diabetic and that he gave her the shots. You could interpret it either way because this information came from Teddy (who's not a reliable source). Teddy is the one who tells him that and Lenny could be picturing this in his mind, or remembering it.
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TEDDY
You tell everyone about Sammy. Everyone who'll listen. "Remember Sammy Jankis, remember Sammy Jankis". Great story. Gets better every time you tell it. So you lie to yourself to be happy. Nothing wrong with that - we all do. Who cares if there's a few little things you'd rather not remember?

LEONARD
What the fuck are you talking about?

TEDDY
I dunno... your wife surviving the assault... her not believing about your condition... the doubt tearing her up inside... the insulin...

LEONARD
That's Sammy, not me! I told you about Sammy...

TEDDY
Like you've told yourself. Over and over. Conditioning yourself to believe. "learning through repetition"

LEONARD
Sammy let his wife kill herself! Sammy ended up in an institution!

TEDDY
Sammy was a con man. A faker.

LEONARD
I never said he was faking! I never said that!

TEDDY
You exposed him for what he was: a fraud.

LEONARD
I was wrong! That's the whole point! Sammy's wife came to me and...

TEDDY
Sammy didn't have a wife.

Leonard freezes, staring at Teddy.

TEDDY
It was your wife who had diabetes.

Leonard thinks. (my observation: thinks his own thoughts or suggestion?)

INT. LEONARD'S APARTMENT - DAY
Leonard's Wife sitting on the edge of the bed. She feels a sharp pain, and turns to Leonard (just as we have seen before).

LEONARD'S WIFE
Gentle.

Leonard has a syringe in his hand.

INT. DERELICT BUILDING - DAY
Leonard shakes his head, clearing his head of the image. (my observation: an image he remembered or pictured based on Teddy's lies?)

LEONARD
My wife wasn't diabetic.

TEDDY
Are you sure?

INT. LEONARD'S APARTMENT - DAY
Leonard's Wife on the edge of the bed. She feels a sharp pain, and turns to Leonard.

LEONARD'S WIFE
Gentle.

Leonard is playfully pinching her thigh.

INT. DERELICT BUILDING - DAY
Leonard shakes his head, smiling. (my observation: he could be picturing this or remembering it.)

LEONARD
She wasn't diabetic. You think I don't know my own wife? What the fuck is wrong with you? *

TEDDY
I guess I can only make you believe the things you want to be true, huh? Like ol' Jimmy down there.
He couldn't have remembered because it was after his accident. And even if there was a faint chance he remembered the exact moment his wife died, he couldn't have remembered giving her the shots over and over again, because if that was the case, then he would've realized it was fatal and thus not done it.
Maybe that's another reason to assume that Teddy may be manipulating Lenny.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEDDY
Fuck you; I gave you a reason to live and you were more than happy to help. You lie to yourself! You don't want the truth, the truth is a fucking coward. So you make up your own truth.

So I guess is up to you to decide if Lenny was having flashes of memory or picturing a suggestion by Teddy. Remember that in the beginning of the quoted script, Teddy says to Lenny: "So you lie to yourself to be happy. Nothing wrong with that - we all do. Who cares if there's a few little things you'd rather not remember?" and also "I guess I can only make you believe the things you want to be true, huh? Like ol' Jimmy down there."
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And at the end, sitting in the car, Lenny thinks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LEONARD
Do I lie to myself to be happy?

Leonard looks up at Teddy's sedan and copies down the license number. The LICENSE NUMBER of Teddy's car is: SG13 7IU.

LEONARD
In your case, Teddy... yes, I will.
--------------------------------------------------------------

So I guess it's really up to you.

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LEONARD
I was wrong! That's the whole point! Sammy's wife came to me and...

This is said with such conviction and as an immediate response that I most certainly trust this statement.

Anyone who has given someone else an insulin shot knows you don't sneak up behind someone and stick them. It is merely Leonard picturing what John G is saying, which Leonard dismisses with the truth.

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@ Tristy, dadosaboya and author

That's one of the possibilities I thought it could have been. That he's just picturing (not remembering) what Teddy says.

BUT, I don't think it's true.

Because Teddy revealing all of that is supposed to be the "twist" in the movie. If it was all a lie, then there is no twist.

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peter_c wrote:@ Tristy, dadosaboya and author

That's one of the possibilities I thought it could have been. That he's just picturing (not remembering) what Teddy says.

BUT, I don't think it's true.

Because Teddy revealing all of that is supposed to be the "twist" in the movie. If it was all a lie, then there is no twist.
Way I see it, the real twist comes after when, sitting in the car, Lenny thinks:

LEONARD
Do I lie to myself to be happy?

Leonard looks up at Teddy's sedan and copies down the license number. The LICENSE NUMBER of Teddy's car is: SG13 7IU.

LEONARD
In your case, Teddy... yes, I will.

Despite Teddy's lies, Lenny makes his own truth.

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dadosaboya wrote:Way I see it, the real twist comes after when, sitting in the car, Lenny thinks:

LEONARD
Do I lie to myself to be happy?

Leonard looks up at Teddy's sedan and copies down the license number. The LICENSE NUMBER of Teddy's car is: SG13 7IU.

LEONARD
In your case, Teddy... yes, I will.

Despite Teddy's lies, Lenny makes his own truth.
Your theory makes sense, it's just the way the ending was presented that has me in doubt.

The way it was presented tries to make us believe what Teddy says is true. And that's what most average people who see the movie think.

Why would Nolan try to trick the viewer, instead of just revealing the truth.

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Off topic: If Sammy Jankis never had a wife, who is that woman Leonard is imagining? He seems to remember having a long conversation with her, even though it didn't happen.

Amnesia is confusing. :crazy:

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peter_c wrote:
dadosaboya wrote:Way I see it, the real twist comes after when, sitting in the car, Lenny thinks:

LEONARD
Do I lie to myself to be happy?

Leonard looks up at Teddy's sedan and copies down the license number. The LICENSE NUMBER of Teddy's car is: SG13 7IU.

LEONARD
In your case, Teddy... yes, I will.

Despite Teddy's lies, Lenny makes his own truth.
Your theory makes sense, it's just the way the ending was presented that has me in doubt.

The way it was presented tries to make us believe what Teddy says is true. And that's what most average people who see the movie think.

Why would Nolan try to trick the viewer, instead of just revealing the truth.
Because is more fun this way. Just like the top spinning on the table at the end of Inception.

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dadosaboya wrote:Because is more fun this way. Just like the top spinning on the table at the end of Inception.
Also, the way Leonard denied that his wife was diabetic makes me feel like Teddy was telling the truth. It's like he knew she was diabetic, but was trying to force himself to believe she wasn't.

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peter_c wrote:
dadosaboya wrote:Because is more fun this way. Just like the top spinning on the table at the end of Inception.
Also, the way Leonard denied that his wife was diabetic makes me feel like Teddy was telling the truth. It's like he knew she was diabetic, but was trying to force himself to believe she wasn't.
That's the beauty in Nolan's films. We don't watch them, we experience them. Your feeling the same disorientation as Lenny, and better yet, everytime you see the film again, you'll figure out something new. We all make our own truth.

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