20 Famous Movie Tattoos (And What They Actually Mean)
1. Memento (2000)
Role: Guy Pearce as Leonard
Memento is far more than a film featuring a lead character with tattoos. In Christopher Nolans clever psychological thriller, protagonist Leonard IS his tattoos - everything Guy Pearce's character knows about himself is off of his skin.
Due to a mysterious memory-impairment, Leonard must use tattoos as a permanent means of combating his unreliable brain. Using the case of clues which is rapidly taking shape on his body in the ink, Leonard is attempting to solve the mystery of who killed his wife, therefore he must use whichever tattoo parlour is nearest while he can, so the standard of work ranges from very nice script to scratchy scribblings.
Obviously his many different tattoos have varying significance depending on how important the clue is; arguably the most memorably is the all-important John G. raped and murdered my wife across his chest... it must have been a strange day at the tattoo parlour that day! Leonards collection of peculiar tattoos which drive the narrative announce his inability to move on from the passing of his wife.
A person's tattoos define part of who they are; Pearce's characters use of tattoos to aid his investigations means that he is defined by the hopeless pursuit of his wifes killer. Indeed, the unexpected twist at the end of the film corroborates the notion that if Leonard isnt pursuing John G, he has nothing, but ironically for audiences, the tattoos in Memento are impossible to forget.
Which other film character tattoos do you love, or perhaps even have in tribute? Let us know in the comments!