MEMENTO (2000)

Christopher Nolan’s gripping small budget thriller gives an example of how the ink that covers a film’s character can not only influence the plot of the film, but drive it. Due to a mysterious memory impairment, Leonard (Guy Pearce) must use his tattoos as clues in an attempt to solve the mystery of who killed his wife. As Leonard continues to lose his grip on his memory, he must use whichever tattoo parlour is nearest as quickly as he can, with some of the more graphic tats that he carries making for a very awkward conversation at the tattoo parlour. If a person’s tattoos define part of who they are, then Pearce’s character’s use of tattoos to aid his investigations means that he is sadly defined by the hopeless pursuit of his wife’s killer.