Nolan caught everyone by surprise when this unique whodunit hit the festival circuit.
But by the time the movie had its theatrical release, Nolan was already considered a future star. The movie has a great performance by Guy Pearce as a man looking for the killer of his wife while suffering from short-term memory loss, but it’s the story being told in reverse order that is its standout.
The complexity to pull that off proved Nolan was a filmmaker few had ever seen. And 20-plus years after its debut, you can still discover things within the story that you never caught before.
There’s really no better compliment you can give a movie or its filmmaker other than that.