How does the narrative of a film express the themes

"tendency to confound the viewers’ expectations a conceptual twist by linking

the flow of the narrative to” (British Film Institute 2000) the condition of the

protagonist."

http://www.raindance.org/site/picture/upload/image/general/movies/memento_(Analysis).pdf

Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University

Department of England- and America-Studies

Frankfurt am Main

Dr. Robert Hurd

23/02/2003  
The quote at the top is a quote from an article about memento and this quote above is commenting on how the narrative structure of the film actually makes the audience the protagonist in the sense of the film and this is because. The narrative is non-linear because it follows three time lines that are always interchanging and keep the audience confused about what is happening. This means the way we are watching the film and the way we feel about it is the way that Lenny is throughout the whole of the film this is able to express the theme of vulnerability through the use of this narrative structure. This is because if we where to make this film linear we would not get a real sense of how Lenny feels meaning every scene that happens in this film would not have as much impact. So because we feel this film basically through Lenny's point of view we feel the full impact of the vulnerability that Lenny feels throughout the whole of the film meaning. This film highly reflects the themes of the film through the brilliantly thought out narrative structure.