Memento, possibly one of the greatest movies made to date. It retells the story of Leonard, a man who's lost the ability to hold onto any short term memory, only being able to recall distant memories of a better time, when his wife was still alive. Leonard struggles everyday with his memory problems and he can only move forward, not knowing what's happened in his recent past. While Billy has the ability to know everything about every point in time in his own life, Leonard is able to revisit distant memories in his past and since he's only remembering them and not actually reliving them, they are not always true. Leonard can only move forward, and he barely has any knowledge of the past, while Billy can move to any time he wants. There are also a lot more than just their relation to time.
Memento also has a very non-linear story, but as opposed to Slaughterhouse, the most climactic scene remains at the end of the story. It gives away very little of the story and you must follow it through to understand exactly what happens. Although it does start with the ending, the whole process leading up to it isn't revealed so there is still a sense of mystery. The ending of Memento made the whole experience feel satisfying and fulfilling to watch to the end, while Slaughterhouse only trails off on what is to be an endless story. There's just a better feeling from an ending that feels like it's concluding a story and making the entire film worth watching rather than one that's been spoiled and predictable. It's as if someone tells you the ending of a really good movie that you haven't seen. Every part that's suppose to be suspenseful or climactic wouldn't matter anymore because you already know how things will turn out. The novel might also lose the attention of the reader if it isn't interesting which doesn't help in the slightest of getting the author's messages across.
There's also the difference in their characters. Billy is a static character that has no goal in the novel other than to basically narrate what goes on around him. He doesn't take chances and only follows the path that's been set for him. Leonard is not like Billy. Leonard is a dynamic character that changes as the story progresses and is crucial for the story to move forward. To me, Billy justs seems to take away from the all the ideas that Vonnegut tries to give and sometimes i read without actually paying attention since the story doesn't seem interesting enough. Leonard, on the other hand, is so adventurous and his story is interesting that i am captivated by it and i want to continue to watch it.
Anyways, everything stated here is just my opinion, you're welcome to disagree.
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