Guy Pearce
is his own biggest critic. If anyone needs any proof of that, then they can look no further than his recent comments about his appearance in Christopher Nolan’s early movie, Memento
. Released in 2000, the debut feature film of the director who would go on to make the greatest Batman movie, several mind-bending blockbusters, and the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, saw Pearce taking on the lead role as a man who is hunting his wife’s killer, but has no ability to recall his recent memories. According to the actor, he was “sh-t” in the film.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Scoring 94% from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and turning a paltry $5-9 million budget into a $40 million box office hit, makes it hard to label Memento as having many failings. In fact, many reviews of the movie specifically single out Pearce’s “unforgettable” performance in “one of cinemas most ornate puzzle boxes.” However, Pearce himself is incredibly critical of his turn in the film. Speaking to The Times, he said:
“I’m having an existential crisis,” Pearce admitted. “I watched ‘Memento’ the other day and I’m still depressed. I’m shit in that movie. I’d never thought that before, but I did this Q&A of ‘Memento’ earlier this month and decided to actually watch the film again. But while it was playing I realized I hate what I did. And so all this stuff about an exec at Warners being why I’ve not worked with Chris again? It came crashing down. I know why I didn’t work with Chris again — it’s because I’m no good in ‘Memento.’”
Is Guy Pearce “No Good” in ‘Memento’?
While everyone is entitled to their opinions, that doesn’t mean those opinions have to be right. Even though Pearce clearly doesn’t believe his performance in Memento has aged particularly well, he appears to be in the minority. As well as high praise from virtually everyone who reviewed the movie in 2000, and those who have reviewed it since, Pearce was also nominated for several Best Actor awards for the role, and won one at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Memento is a movie that needs to be watched, and cannot simply be allowed to play in the background. The twisting, backward reveal story is one that requires plenty of attention – just like most of Nolan’s movies – and that story is told through the strength of Pearce’s performance. Perhaps the moral of this story is that actors really should not watch their own movies – and there are many that refuse to do so, probably for this very reason.
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Pearce is currently starring in The Brutalist with Adrien Brody, and has been picking up plenty of nominations for his efforts. Along with a recently announced Oscar nomination, Pearce has also been nominated for a BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Chicago Film Critics Association Award for his supporting role in the movie. Hopefully, he will be happier with his performance in this one when he has the chance to watch it back in 20 years’ time.
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