Guy Pearce might be getting a lot of attention for his recent turn in The Brutalist, but the one performance he sounds like he’d rather forget is as a character that struggles to remember. In an interview with The Times, Pearce revealed that he’d recently given Memento a rewatch and wasn’t happy with what was on show. The film, directed by Christopher Nolan, saw him as a man with short-term memory loss trying to track down his wife’s killer. While it might be a favorite for some, Pearce is a much harsher critic. “I’m shit in that movie,” he admits.
“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.” This discovery for the actor, who is up for an Oscar nomination this year for his role in Brady Corbet’s new film, was a light bulb moment. It led him to clarify his previous statements about being blocked from working with Nolan on future projects, including Batman Begins. “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 not good in Memento.”
Picking apart his performance as Leonard Shelby, Pearce explained why it doesn’t sit right with him. “I was trying to do a flippant attitude, but it was all wrong. John Gielgud once said, ‘You can be good in a good movie, good in a bad movie, bad in a bad movie, but never be bad in a good movie.’ Yet I watched Memento and realized I’m bad in a good movie. Fuck!”
Now in its 25th anniversary, Memento was the movie that helped Christopher Nolan break into Hollywood. However, there’s no doubt that Pearce, as the troubled hero piecing together his past, contributed to that with an excellent performance. Unfortunately, the actor seems pretty set in his recent analysis. “It’s funny; people say I should’ve been nominated for Memento. Now I understand why I wasn’t. Look, I’m pleased with LA Confidential, but I look at this and go, ‘Oof! Nails on a chalkboard!’ If I reckon my performance in Neighbours is two out of ten, Memento is a five.”
Well, we still hold it in quite high regard. In fact, before we forget, you can get our full ranking of Christopher Nolan movies here.
