In the new Ben Affleck thriller “Paycheck,” Hollywood hopes to cash in by banking on a premise that has been quite in vogue lately — memory loss. In the film, Affleck plays a “reverse engineer” who heists high-tech company secrets and then has the larcenous memories erased so he can’t be prosecuted.
But “Paycheck” isn’t the season’s only big-budget flick that loses its head on the big screen — in “Gothika,” Halle Berry plays a doctor accused of murder who can’t recall how the blood got on her hands. And in next year’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Jim Carrey handles his relationship issues by having all memories of his ex obliterated from his brain. With these films fresh in our mind, we decided to see how memorable, and forgettable, recent memory loss flicks have been.
“TOTAL RECALL” (1990)
Memory loss: In 2084, a mild-mannered yet very muscle-bound construction worker named Doug (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is having bad dreams about being on Mars. It turns out he was an operative there with “the Agency,” and after he clashed with his boss and tried to switch sides, his mind was erased and he was placed on Earth with a fake job and fake wife to watch over him.
Memory gain: Intrigued and disturbed by his dreams about Mars, Doug goes to a company called Recall, which for a fee implants fake vacation memories. You can even choose your own identity at Recall, and Doug chooses to be a secret agent. The process goes awry, but it’s just the stimulus he needs to get his memories back and return to Mars and take care of unfinished business.
Memorable or forgettable: Action-packed and fun, but watching it now will make you remember how much better special effects are today.
“DUDE, WHERE’S MY CAR?” (2000)
Memory loss: Jesse (Ashton Kutcher) and Chester (Seann William Scott) wake up in their slovenly bachelor pad to discover that Jesse’s car is not parked in front of the house where it should be. Why can’t they remember where they left it? Because they are prolific stoners whose brains are fried.
Memory gain: As the boys meander around town looking for their ride, they run across clues that help them recall just how crazed the previous evening was. After crossing paths with a bevy of super sexy alien babes and a transsexual stripper, they remember to save the universe by seizing control of the “continuum transponder.”
Memorable or forgettable: Kutcher should hope Demi Moore forgets he starred in this stinker or she might just forget about him.
“MEMENTO” (2000)
Memory loss: An insurance claims investigator named Leonard (Guy Pearce) wakes up one night when he hears sounds in the bathroom. He discovers his wife being raped and murdered. One of the assailants slams his head into the wall so hard it gives him brain damage. After the attack, he can still remember his past but he can no longer form short-term memories.
Memory gain: To recall what happens to him on a daily basis, Leonard comes up with an ingenious, if complicated, scheme. He carries around a Polaroid camera and snaps pictures of things he has to remember and writes notes on the pictures. He also liberally uses the services of tattoo artists to ink onto his skin crucial information about his wife’s murder, which he is investigating.
Memorable or forgettable: It’s such an incredibly clever twist on the memory loss angle that you couldn’t forget it if you tried.
“NURSE BETTY” (2000)
Memory loss: Betty (Renee Zellweger) is a small town, greasy spoon waitress. Her husband runs afoul with the mob, and she witnesses his brutal murder and scalping. What she sees is so horrible that it induces a “post-traumatic stress reaction” in which she blocks out all memories of her past.
Memory gain: Betty flees her town and drives to Los Angeles, site of her favorite soap opera. In her dissociative state, she convinces herself that she is the ex-fiance of the show’s handsome star. In a bizarre turn of events, she meets the actor and is asked to appear on the show. When she arrives on set, the disconnect between her fantasy reality and the show’s lights and cameras is too much, and her painful past comes into view.
Memorable or forgettable: An extremely wry black comedy you won’t soon forget.
“THE MAJESTIC” (2001)
Memory loss: During the 1950s Hollywood witch hunts, a young up-and-coming screenwriter named Peter (Jim Carrey) is accused of being a communist sympathizer. After his studio lets him go, he drowns his sorrows in drink, then wrecks his car over a bridge. While being washed away, he conks his head and totally loses his memory.
Memory gain: Peter washes up on shore near a small town. The townsfolk convince themselves he is Luke, a long-lost son who has mysteriously returned after going MIA in the war. The new Luke works with his “father” to reopen their movie theater. At the theater, he sees clues from his screenwriting career that help restart his memory.
Memorable or forgettable: It’s Capra-esque schmaltz, but it sticks in your brain.
“MULHOLLAND DRIVE” (2001)
Memory loss: A woman riding in a limo through Hollywood is about to be shot when she gets into an accident. Her assailant is killed and she survives, albeit with a serious bump on the noggin. She ends up sneaking into a nearby apartment. When Betty, the woman staying there, finds her, she says she was in an accident and remembers nothing else.
Memory gain: Betty takes a shine to her uninvited guest and tries to help her rediscover her identity. At a diner, the amnesiac sees a waitress’ nametag, which jogs her memory. They use that information to track down who they think she is. The investigation at first seems to be leading somewhere until director David Lynch decides abstract dreamy interludes are much more fun than solving the mystery.
Memorable or forgettable: As with much of Lynch’s work, this film will leave you scratching your head.
“THE BOURNE IDENTITY” (2002)
Memory loss: During a bad storm, fishermen pull a man in a wetsuit (Matt Damon) from the Mediterranean Sea. He has been shot twice in the back and is near dead. They help him regain his health, but the trauma of his injuries was so extreme that it erased from his memory any idea of who he is and how he got dumped in the drink.
Memory gain: While on the boat, the ship’s doctor cuts a small capsule out of the amnesiac’s hip. It’s a laser that shines a Swiss bank account number. The number leads to a safe deposit box in Zurich. Inside the box are multiple passports, money and a gun — clues that lead the man to discover he is a lethal CIA assassin.
Memorable or forgettable: Forget about the memory loss angle — this is just a great, taut action picture.
“THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST” (2002)
Memory loss: In this critically acclaimed black comedy by Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki, a man gets off a train, walks into a park and falls asleep on a bench. A trio of thugs pounce on him, and one viciously smashes his head with a baseball bat. He wakes up the next day a bloody mess with no clue who he is or where he came from.
Memory gain: The nameless man recovers and finds shelter in a boxcar near the loading docks. Blithely unconcerned with regaining his memory, he falls in love with a woman he meets at the Salvation Army and seems quite content. After witnessing a bank robbery, his picture and situation are published in the press, which allows his past to catch up with him.
Memorable or forgettable: Wonderfully odd and offbeat, you can’t help but have fond memories of this film.
“GOTHIKA” (2003)
Memory loss: Sexy psychiatrist Dr. Miranda Grey (Berry) works in a prison for the criminally insane. She is incarcerated there after being accused of killing her husband. She denies having done the deed, but the police have tons of bloody evidence against her, and she can’t remember how the blood got on her hands. The film clumsily and implausibly implies a demonic force is at the root of Grey’s mental gray areas.
Memory gain: In the end, Dr. Grey does remember what transpired on the night her husband was killed and she pieces together all of the weird tricks her mind has been playing on her. However, the mental trauma that caused her to forget is so extreme she would have been better off staying in the dark.
Verdict: This film is so bad you’ll want to erase it completely from your memory.
“PAYCHECK” (2003)
Memory loss: Michael Jennings ( Affleck) is a high-tech whiz hired by companies to break down other companies’ computer codes and circuits so he can steal their hidden secrets. Once he has finished a job, his employers use a machine to wipe his brain clean of any memories about his work so neither he nor they can be sued.
Memory gain: Jennings takes an assignment with a huge payoff that requires three years of his memories be erased once he is finished. When the deed is done, he discovers that he has been doublecrossed, but he can’t remember how or why. Luckily, he was savvy enough to leave himself a series of clues that help him in his quest to clear his name.
Memorable or forgettable: This film is filled with so many action and thriller cliches that you’ll have no problem completely forgetting it.
