How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Memento.
Quote #1
NATALIE: Don't just recite the words. Close your eyes and remember her.
LEONARD: You can just feel the details. The bits and pieces you never bothered to put into words. And you can feel these extreme moments, even if you don't want to. You put these together and you get the feel of a person, enough to know how much you miss them.
We all know what Leonard's talking about. Our memories are so visual that it's impossible to describe them, or even to think about them consciously. Remembering is like conjuring up our past. This scene is eerie because there's no music; it's just raw memory.
Quote #2
LEONARD: Probably tried this before. Probably burned truckloads of your stuff. Can't remember to forget you.
This is a parallel of what Leonard says later about being unable to heal without time. His most recent memory is her dying, so her loss is always fresh in his mind. However, one of the things he's burning in this scene is a clock, as if he's trying to destroy the time they've been apart, or at least his memory of it.
Quote #3
LEONARD: Memory's not perfect. It's not even that good. Ask the police, eyewitness testimony is unreliable. The cops don't catch a killer by sitting around remembering stuff. They collect facts, make notes, draw conclusions. Facts, not memories: that's how you investigate. I know; it's what I used to do. Memory can change the shape of a room or the color of a car. It's an interpretation, not a record. Memories can be changed or distorted and they're irrelevant if you have the facts.
Leonard's right about memory; it's really not very good. But Leonard's "facts" aren't always that factual. Plus, they can be misinterpreted. Sometimes a nine is really a six.
Quote #4
LEONARD: I don't even know how long she's been gone. It's like I've woken up in bed and she's not here because she's gone to the bathroom or something. But somehow I just know that she'll never come back to bed. I lie here, not knowing how long I've been alone. If I could just reach out and touch her side of the bed I could know that it was cold, but I can't. I have no idea when she left. I know I can't have her back, but I want to be able to let her go. I don't want to wake up every morning thinking she's still here, and then realizing that she's not. I want time to pass, but it won't. How can I heal if I can't feel time?
Natalie does this when Leonard leaves the bed. She reaches over and touches where he was, surely picturing Jimmy. But will Natalie have this same impulse months or years from now? That's the worst part about Leonard's condition. His loss will always be fresh for as long as he lives.
Quote #5
NATALIE: You still staying at the Discount Inn? Room 304 ? [brings out his key] Left it at my place.
LEONARD: Yeah.
NATALIE: They treating you okay?
LEONARD: I don't remember.
We really see Leonard's easygoing nonchalance. He doesn't care that he doesn't know if he's being treated well because, what's the point? Of course, this is also very ironic because Natalie hasn't been treating Leonard all too well.
Quote #6
NATALIE: So next time you see me... will you remember me? [Leonard shakes his head, no] I think you will.
LEONARD: I'm sorry.
Natalie is certain that Leonard's anterograde amnesia can be triumphed with emotion or connection or importance; that it's all a matter of making a big enough impact. Of course, if Leonard doesn't remember killing John G., we don't think a little kiss is going to do much. Conditioning seems to be the only workaround for his condition.