What will the DVD look like? Any plans to reedit the movie so it plays front to back? ''We just finished the DVD for [Nolan's first feature, 1998's] 'Following' -- which was also nonlinear -- in which I present the film in linear chronology,'' says the director. ''I don't want to demystify the movie, but it's a possibility. I'd like to do a commentary track, though. It'll depend on time.''
Is Jankis -- the ''memory man'' whose story Leonard tells obsessively -- real? Or is he a figment of our hero's imagination? Nolan won't say, though he coyly notes, ''Remember, what Teddy says about Sammy is that he was a con man, not that he didn't actually exist.'' But think about it: How would Leonard remember Jankis by looking at the tattoo on his hand if he hadn't been a figure in his life at some point prior to the accident?
If Leonard has short-term memory loss, how does he remember the specifics of his condition every morning? Assuming Teddy was telling the truth about Sammy's chicanery, then there's no reason to believe that people with this condition can't learn through repetition. Ergo, ''he can take on knowledge and use it,'' explains Nolan, reluctantly. ''So he remembers by repeating it to himself over and over again.''
So here's the biggie: Was Teddy telling the truth at the end? We asked the man himself (or at least the actor who played him). ''My opinion? In that last scene he tells Leonard the truth,'' says Pantoliano. ''Leonard was a device to Teddy, in order to give Leonard a life, to make Teddy feel worthwhile, and it was a way for him to make money, too.'' Watch the movie again and it makes sense. But, Nolan cautions, that isn't necessarily the final explanation. (Why are we not surprised?) ''One of the things the film says is that in real life -- unlike in movies -- there is no objective truth,'' he says. ''We always intended that there would be multiple interpretations that conflict and that the audience would have to choose what they want to believe.''
Gee, thanks, Chris. Thanks a lot.
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