Noah Hawley S To Be Read Backwards Sounds Like Memento Meets Benjamin Button

Noah Hawley’s ‘To Be Read Backwards’ Sounds Like ‘Memento’ Meets ‘Benjamin Button’

By Chris Evangelista/Dec. 13, 2018 4:30 pm EST

To Be Read Backwards’ high-concept plot will no doubt prove fruitful for Hawley, who seems to revel in making strange, surreal, overly stylish pieces of entertainment. While Hawley has primarily operated in TV, he has a feature directorial debut coming up – Pale Blue Dot, starring Natalie Portman. He was also supposed to direct the sci-fi film Man Alive, but now will only produce, with Hiro Murai directing.

A film unfolding backwards isn’t exactly new – Christopher Nolan’s Memento is the most prominent example. Irreversible is another film that moves back in time, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind begins at the ending, before doubling back and filling in the gaps. The unique angle here seems to involve the main character starting at his death, and learning more about himself as he moves backwards. That recalls The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but is different enough to stand on its own.