Memento story writer Jonathan Nolan recalls the disastrous first screenings of the psychological thriller. Director Christopher Nolan experienced a critical breakthrough with his 2001 mystery film, based on his brother Jonathan’s short story, about a man with short-term memory loss tortuously trying to solve the case of his wife’s murder. Made for under $10 million, the film employed an innovative non-linear approach similar to the tricks Nolan would later deploy for his Oscar-winning blockbuster Oppenheimer.
