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435 voters

The Best Memory Loss Movies

Updated April 23, 2021 3.3k votes 435 voters 53.6k views48 items

List RulesFilms in which characters experience memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, forgetfulness, or manipulated memories

List of the best memory loss movies, as ranked by film fans and movie critics. Films about memory loss are very popular and often critically acclaimed because, although most movie viewers don’t experience loss of memory, the themes are universal. Many of these films feature characters trying to find themselves, fix the unfixable people in their lives, or trying to relive moments that are gone forever. The characters of these films either had memory stealing car accidents or deal with dementia. In some cases they even had their memories stolen by malevolent forces.

What are the best memory loss movies ever made? The films here - all movies about memory loss - range from romantic comedies, like 50 First Dates and Overboard, to haunting thrillers, like Shutter Island and The Manchurian Candidate. A few of the films feature abstract depictions of amnesia, such as Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Even Disney's animated films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory deal with characters suffering from short term memory loss. While most of the movies include a protagonist with amnesia, a few have main characters who are dealing with a loved one suffering from dementia.

This list features the best memory loss movies of all time, ranging from heartbreaking romances, like The Notebook, to hilarious gut-busters, like The Hangover.

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Memento
Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan.... more
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Total Recall
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone
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While You Were Sleeping
Sandra Bullock, Monica Keena
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Shutter Island
Leonardo DiCaprio, Michelle Williams
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Inception
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst
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The Vow
Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum
The Vow is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Michael Sucsy, starring Channing Tatum and... more
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Still Alice
Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin
Still Alice is a 2014 drama film written by Lisa Genova and directed by Richard Glatzer and... more
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Finding Nemo
Ellen DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe
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The Notebook
Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling
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Regarding Henry
Harrison Ford, Annette Bening
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Finding Dory
Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks
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The Number 23
Jim Carrey, Rhona Mitra
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The Bourne Ultimatum
Matt Damon, Julia Stiles
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Hancock
Charlize Theron, Will Smith
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Jason Bourne
Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones
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Mulholland Drive
Naomi Watts, Billy Ray Cyrus
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Anastasia
Kirsten Dunst, Meg Ryan
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Dream House
Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz
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Spellbound
Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck
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Moon
Kevin Spacey, Mary Tyler Moore
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Unknown
Diane Kruger, Liam Neeson
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50 First Dates
Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler
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Bloodshot
Vin Diesel, Sam Heughan
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The Bourne Identity
Matt Damon, Clive Owen
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