To what extent is Memento a Film Noir?

Movie synopsis

It was a horrible murder, no witnesses, only the Polaroid photo of the victim). The picture gradually loses its forms, and their colors fade. Finally the image returns to be made clear. The bloodied face and collapsed in pain is again the face of a living person. The gun back in its way, the time back ... (Leonard is killing Teddy, his assistant, having become convinced that the real murderer of his wife).  The order of events in this psychological thriller is revealed back. This gives us greater ability to understand the situation of the protagonist, who suffers short memory loss. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) refuses to surrender, and follows a strict method to recall the gist of their actions through notes, tattoos and photographs. All with one goal ... revenge the murder of his wife.  People who are aware of its "quality” intend to use it for their own purposes ... or help, as Natalie and Teddy. The film is unique; it would seem that for their specific experimental edition. It develops through two intertwined story lines. One is shot in black and white and the other in color. The events pass color inversely to their logical order, going back in time, so that the viewer gets into the skin of the protagonist and his dismay at the situation and gradually discovers the events that caused the whole story, beginning with the murder of his wife. A curious detail is that while there are scenes that are "backwards" around the sound is normally issued. On the other hand the music is minimal, with the intention of producing a greater emotional freedom in the spectator. As we reached the bottom of the story, many things change in meaning: allies become enemies, the victims are guilty. Leonard solitary scenes while fighting in his hotel room on his inability to create memories are in black and white. The  scenes from his search for the murderer of his wife are shown in color from the story line "in real time ". The past becomes present.  You can not trust his veracity and only the facts allow us to understand the reality ... This is the philosophy of Leonard in combating the problem.

Source: http://es.shvoong.com/books/1746728-memento-review-la-película/ # ixzz1VbyYfBnT

Flippo noir characteristics

1. Dark, shadowy, contrasted images filmed in black and white (a contribution of German Expressionism) -- often at night and usually in a gritty urban setting 


2. Hard-boiled, cynical, disillusioned characters -- who are nevertheless usually likable 


3. male protagonist facing a moral dilemma and/or some kind of threat 


4. An alluring, sassy, independent and usually dangerous woman 


5. Flashbacks -- a wavering past and present, inextricably linked 


6. A voice-over narration


7. A healthy dose of paranoia or, at the very least, a strong sense of insecurity, betrayal, or being trapped 


8. Angst, American style 


9. Required for "pure" film noir: NO happy ending. A happy ending turns a film noir into a film gris or a melodrama done in noir style.

Source: http://virtual-explorations.org/film_noir.htm

Memento has many of the named characteristics of a film noir, such as death, blood, a crime, no happy ending, black and white scenes and flashbacks. 

Flashbacks

Black and white scenes

Characteristics of Film Noir

Film Noir

From Wikipedia


"Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-whitevisual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during theDepression.

The term film noir, French for "black film",^[1] first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the classic era.^[2] Cinema historians and critics defined the noir canon in retrospect. Before the notion was widely adopted in the 1970s, many of the classic film noirs were referred to as melodramas.^[a] The question of whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre is a matter of ongoing debate among scholars.

Film noir encompasses a range of plots—the central figure may be a private eye (The Big Sleep), a plainclothes policeman (The Big Heat), an aging boxer (The Set-Up), a hapless grifter (Night and the City), a law-abiding citizen lured into a life of crime (Gun Crazy), or simply a victim of circumstance (D.O.A.). Though the noir mode was originally identified with American productions, films now customarily described as noir have been made around the world. Many pictures released from the 1960s onward share attributes with film noirs of the classic period, often treating noir conventions in a self-referential manner. Such latter-day works in a noir mode are often referred to as neo-noirs. The tropes of film noir have inspired parody since the mid-1940s."

Characteristics:

History: 1940s-50s, Hollywood Studio but a reaction against the glamour and idealisation of Hollywood
Setting: Nameless timeless urban landscape,
Tone: cynical, subversive
Themes: crime, detective, thriller, revenge, immorality, bleakness, alienation, moral corruption, guilt... a lack of a happy ending...
Characters: Male protagonist: detective, police officer, a drinker and smoker, not a success in his personal or professional life, often as amoral as the people he chases, falls for the... femme fatale: a beautiful usually independent woman who typically leads the male protagonist astray, the antithesis of the loving, maternal, domestic female. 

Femme Fatale

Classics: The Third Man, A Touch of Evil, The Maltese Fiction, Big Sleep, Sunset Boulevard...  
Neo Noir: Se7en, Fargo, Fight Club, The Game, Brick, Batman, Memento...  
Technical aspects: close ups, spot lighting, contrasts between black and white, use of shadows, smoke; iconography of fedoras and cigarettes, smart three piece suits and pcket watches...