Question about MEMENTO?

[Jimmy"The Gent"]

Last night I revisted one of my favorite movies, Memento (5/5), and I am glad to say that good old Lenny and his search for John G. is still as fascinating as ever. But there has always been something about the movie's conclusion that's bothered me, although I couldn't put my finger on it until last night. I was just wondering how Lenny's wife actually died; did she die when the break-in occured or did she survive and overdose on insulin?

It seems to me that Sammy Jenkins' story is actually Lenny's story as revealed by Teddy at the end (beginning) of the movie. We see different flashbacks throughout, one where Lenny is giving his wife a shot of insulin in the leg, but then it changes to a pinch. I don't know if this is any indication as to how Lenny is "fooling" himself into believing that his wife was murdered by an assailant and not by himself. Just wondering if anyone could help clarify?

[Andrew Tom]

I do believe you are correct. Lenny did kill his wife and created false memories to convince himself otherwise.

[jimmyjdmb]

If I remeber correctly, theres a really fast shot near the end of the movie where Lenny is lying with his wife and he has a tatoo on his chest saying "I killed the man" or something like that. He had said earlier in the movie that he was reserving that spot on his chest for when he killed the man who killed his wife.

I always thought that his wife had survived the insulin dose, maybe was in a coma or something, and then got back together with Lenny after he killed John G. (Joe Pantoliano). Lenny was like in a mental hospital (they show that in one of the quick flashbacks, Sammy becomes Lenny), then got out, killed the couple John Gs, then got back together with his wife maybe when she got out of the hospital after the insulin overdose.

Why do I feel like I'm not making sense?

[cerealkiller182]

^^^^thats an interesting idea although i dont remember that part of the movie with the tatoo saying I Killed the Man

[Jimmy"The Gent"]

Why do I feel like I'm not making sense?

Yeah, now you got me really confused.

[bigred760]

SPOILERS HERE - BUT IT'S NOTHING YOU HAVEN'T READ BEFORE.

Yes, Leonard killed his wife with the insulin shots. There's a shot at the end of the flick where you see Sammy Jenkis sitting in the hospital when a nurse (or somebody) walks past him and for a split second you see Leonard (taking the place of Sammy in the same spot).

But if you think about, Lenny doesn't remember she's alive until he sees her. He thinks she's dead right before he has his head smashed into the mirror.

[Andrew Tom]

I think the tattoo said "I GOT HIM". Just nitpicking...

[Patrick Bateman]

Actually, the tattoo said:

I've Done It

SPOILERS!

To start off, Lenny is partly Sammy. Sammy did infact exist.
Sammy was indeed a faker. Lenny's wife did infact survive the attack (according to official site). Although Lenny's injury leaves him suffering from a condition called anterograde amnesia, which means that he can't create new long-term memories. Lenny's wife had diabetes. Lenny lived with his wife for about 9 months after the attack. His wife became desperate of Lenny's condition. By giving Lenny a final test, she allowed Lenny kill her by overdose insulin. After that, Lenny was admitted to a mental hospital and escaped. But while In the hospital, he developed some ability to make new memories through "conditioning" (The most famous one is that he can remember his own condition. Taking another step by assuming that he conditioned himself Sammy's story, this would make the whole plot much more plausible).

But although Lenny would not remember killing his wife by insulin, since it happened after the attack, Lenny simply "conditioned" himself to remember the story in a new way (the Sammy story).

Now as far as Lenny lying alongside his wife, with the triumphant tattoo of "I've done it" on the breast ... lets please remember the facts.

His wife has died.

So my answer is that the scene is merely a fantasy of Lenny's.

Why?

Because it's not a flashback. In the film, we already see that he doesnt have the tattoo, so he couldnt have had it in the past.
It's a fantasy. Which would make sense in the context. At this point in the film, Lenny has just set in motion a plan to avenge his wife. And in short, he's visualizing his own sense of satisfaction and peace.

[Jimmy"The Gent"]

Nice explanation Bateman. That's pretty much the way I was leaning; your attention to detail has definitely helped solidify my theory and answered my question. JTG

[Deckard]

You kids may have fun at this site-

http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2001/06/28/memento_analysis/index.html

enjoy

[bigred760]

That is a good explanation for it Bateman - I guess I never thought about what happened to him AFTER the death (real death) of his wife. Now I have to watch it again. Good times!!