One of the most complex and innovative original screenplays of the 2000s decade, Nolan’s early masterwork is a terrific mystery-thriller told in reverse-chronological order.

Nolan’s work here is a sci-fi sledgehammer—a mind-numbing head-scratcher on the first viewing, but the confoundment subsides when you do a ‘temporal pincer movement’ on yourself with each subsequent viewing, which is really how you should experience his latest ambitious if at times overbearing cinematic Sudoku puzzle.