Some of the most cerebral and surreal films play with the psychology of their unreliable narrator, leaving the viewer guessing what exactly is real.
Summary
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Mind-blowing films with unreliable narrators challenge the viewer’s perception of reality, forming an alliance with the audience to question what they see on screen.
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Movies like “Perfect Blue,” “Black Swan” and “The Lighthouse” blur the line between reality and illusion, leaving viewers unsure about what exactly is true in the world of the film.
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“American Psycho,” “Donnie Darko” and “Inception” keep audiences guessing by presenting narratives open to interpretation, leaving unanswered questions about what is real and what is imagined.
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Several mind-blowing movies make the viewer wonder if what they are seeing on the screen is really happening in the movie. Some of cinema’s best unreliable narrators maintain their delusional or exaggerated perceptions of reality by subjectively linking their deformations to the audience’s perspective. This, in turn, forms an alliance with the viewer behind the screen: what he sees, feels and experiences is faithful to the protagonist, but may not necessarily be real within the verisimilitude of the film itself.
Unreliable narrators for narrative devices are commonly used to express a point of view that exists outside of reality with the primary goal of sending a divergent or alternative hypothesis that becomes the theme of the film. fight club presents one of the most famous examples of an unreliable narrator who at the end of the film is revealed to the viewer as someone who is out of touch with reality. These types of unreliable creative approaches have led to some incredible third act plot twists, while other films leave the viewer guessing whether what he just experienced was real for the protagonist or not. Here are some movies that will leave you wondering what’s real in the end.
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10 Perfect Blue (1997)
perfect blue uses its animation style to depict a surreal atmosphere of strange twists and turns that will leave the viewer wondering what exactly is happening. The film follows former pop star Mima Kirigoe (Ruby Marlowe) who begins to lose touch with reality after being harassed by a crazed fan. perfect blue focuses on themes of identity regarding fame and celebrity and features an unreliable narrator in Mima who creates a world of confusion for the viewer at the end of the film.
9 Black Swan (2010)
Black Swan is a psychological horror film based on the premise of a talented but unstable dancer who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft. Nina’s (Natalie Portman) obsession with her dancing brings her to a breaking point that begins to affect her overall mental health. She experiences severe changes in her perception of reality that are reflected in her professional activities. As Nina tries to embrace more dark elements of her nature to land the lead role in the ballet, she also loses her sense of self.
8 The Lighthouse (2019)
The lighthouse is another clear example of director Robert Eggers’ best psychological horror. Two lighthouse keepers tend a remote lighthouse while trying to maintain a grip on reality until their suspicions about each other’s motives reach a boiling point. By the end of the film, it is impossible to know for sure whether the hints of deception and manipulation are actually based in reality or the product of an isolated, private mind connecting invisible dots.
7 American Psycho (2000)
American Psycho is an exceptional satire intended to portray the idea that prominent financial executives get away with murder (literally). However, it is not clear from the movie alone whether Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) actually killed anyone or if it was all part of his violent fantasies. The film clearly shows several instances of Bateman’s sociopathic behaviors, but does not leave the viewer with a definitive answer as to whether he actually killed anyone, specifically Paul Allen (Jared Leto).
6 Beau is afraid (2023)
The groom is afraidthe third effort as director of the mind behind Midsommar and Hereditary Ari Aster, it is absolutely his most confusing film to date. The film takes Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) into an anxiety-fueled nightmare that’s so unbelievable it must be surreal. It comes to a twist in the third act that makes the previous two acts seem completely pragmatic, landing on narrative developments that turn the entire film around. It’s a bewildering and intentionally indirect cinematic experience, full of unanswered and unanswerable questions.
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5 Donnie Darko (2001)
The cult classic, coming-of-age, psychological horror film Donnie Darko is based on the premise of Donnie’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) imaginary friend, Frank. Frank wears a creepy bunny costume and instructs Donnie to do weird things after telling him the secret that the world would end in less than a month. While we are led to believe that Frank is a hallucination of Donnie’s throughout the film, some specific plot developments hint that Frank and his apocalyptic message could be based on foreseeable truth, if not apparent reality.
4 Life of Pi (2012)
Ang Lee The life of Pi shows a magical visual representation of a terrible survival story that combines elements of surrealism with the basic human instinct of self-preservation. Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) survives a disaster at sea and becomes trapped in a lifeboat with several zoo animals, including a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The film suspends reality through Pi’s lack of sustenance, inspiring several beautiful and spiritually inspired sequences that leave the viewer wondering how much of Pi’s story is true and how much he could have dreamed in his vulnerable state.
3 Lost Highway (1997)
lost highway is one of David Lynch’s most notable works and is known for its innovative use of philosophical arrangements in its story and character design. Lynch allows some inexplicable things to happen in the film to drive home the larger point of his intentional themes of guilt, denial, and suspicion. lost highway thrives within its own surreal nature, relying on an audience’s acceptance of suspended reality to deliver a deeply moving, relatable, and ultimately cathartic cinematic experience.
2 Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Jacob’s ladder tells the heartbreaking story of a Vietnam War veteran named Jacob (Tim Robbins) who mourns the death of his son. Essentially a broken man, Jacob struggles to understand the reality within his fragmented and damaged memories, marked by trauma and immense pain. He attempts to keep his life in order, but is overcome by a wave of hallucinations, flashbacks and conspiracies that leave him and the viewer clueless as to the true nature of reality within the hallucinatory film.
1 Home (2010)
Beginning It might be the quintessential cerebral modern film that interferes with the viewer’s understanding of reality. While Christopher Nolan’s epic film does a thorough job of explaining its own logic throughout several expository scenes, the complex rules of the world within Inception are only established to eventually be broken and thrown out the window at the end of the story. Multiple fan theories have emerged to uncover the true meaning of Inception as one of the most mind-blowing movies ever made, but the real question arises in the film’s final shot and its ambiguous, divisive ending.