There's an old Hollywood joke about an aspiring starlet who was so
dumb she slept with a writer. When it comes to big screen blockbusters,
writers sometimes seem to be deemed less important than the person who
brings coffee to stars' trailers. Well, those pesky words and plots can
get in the way of explosions and gunfights after all.
However, there
are occasions when the writers' ideas and big themes take over, and
sometimes to confusing effect. Let the head scratching begin…
Donnie Darko
Richard
Kelly's mind-bending film debut featured time travel, talking giant
rabbits, schizophrenia and Patrick Swayze. 'Donnie Darko' was a real
cult film, one that revelled in its confusion, begging audiences to
cancel their evening plans and discuss what it all meant instead. Cue a
wealth of theories on the internet trying to decipher Jake Gyllenhaal's
never bettered performance. That was until Kelly ruined it with a
director's cut that spoon-fed us explanations no one really wanted.
Primer
A
low budget time travel gem this — despite the fact that it's one of the
most confusing movies of all time. And don't think repeated viewings
help either, even mathematician Shane Carruth struggled to comprehend
the time travel plot. And he's the writer/director! Costing a few
thousand pounds, 2004's 'Primer' is still an incredibly fun and
inventive ride nonetheless.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Shane
Black's truly excellent noir pastiche begs for repeated viewings, not
just to hear previously hidden verbal gems from Black's script due to
Robert Downey Jr's fast-paced delivery. Aping the film noir blueprint,
the action/comedy plot is deliberately convoluted. Whether it's meant to
be that deliberately convoluted only Black knows. But there are still
elements that don't make sense, and we're guessing that was Black's
biggest joke.
Inception
A
summer blockbuster with smarts? Who would have thought it? Christopher
Nolan's intricately plotted sci-fi thriller has done what no movie has
ever done before: making a spinning top the source of hours upon hours
of discussion.
SPOILER ALERT
The deep pondering stems from
the toy, which helps Leonardo DiCaprio's character realise whether he's
in a dream world or not. If it stops spinning he's in the real world,
and vice versa. However, Nolan infuriatingly ends the film just as he
begins his spin.
Our favourite theory? DiCaprio's master thief turns
his back on the spinning top straight away as he doesn't care if the
world is real or not anymore, he's back with his kids and that's all
that matters. Aw.
Memento
Nolan again!
The
true genius of his thriller is how the concept of a narrative being
played out from different points in time is never seen as a gimmick — it
ties in with the film's central dilemma: A man who suffers from
short-term memory loss tries to unravel the murder of his wife - hence
the skewed narrative.
Like another film noir on this list, 'Kiss Kiss
Bang Bang', it's just best to enjoy the film on first viewing without
even attempting to try and piece it all together. Worry about that on
your second or third attempt. Or fourth!
Mulholland Drive
While
we could have singled out most of David Lynch's work, special mention
has to go to 'Mulholland Drive'. It makes no sense, and we don't think
it was ever meant to.
However, again, like many of his films, it's
the hypnotic and surreal ride that Lynch fans most enjoy about his work.
And this one is certainly that. Sit back and don't worry about things
making sense. See also 'Inland Empire'.
Revolver
A Guy Ritchie film that had people confused?
In
what is an incredibly divisive movie, people who flocked to see the
gangster film starring Jason Statham were no doubt expecting the same
old thing. Except what they got was an out of control filmmaker throwing
as many surreal things on screen to see what stuck, while offering some
philosophical musings. Oh, there was a hugely convoluted plot just to
make sure anyone who saw it got a headache.
Weirdly enough, it's still his most interesting film.
Vanilla Sky
Voted
in a poll last year as the most confusing film of all time, Cameron
Crowe's surreal drama sees Tom Cruise's character enduring strange
hallucinations following a car accident.
While the movie seems to
have film fans scratching their heads, it does seem to opt for the cop
out of all cop out endings — It was all just a dream. Well, in this case
a lucid dream while he was frozen in a cryogenic chamber. Or maybe it's
not. Maybe we didn't understand it at all!
2001: A Space Odyssey
What does it all mean?
Stanley
Kubrick's sci-fi classic movie was always meant to evoke discussion and
be open to interpretation. Unfairly described by The New York Times as
being "somewhere between hypnotic and immensely boring", Kubrick's heady
epic is one of those movies you should just experience and brush aside
minor things like what it all means.
Do you personally understand any of these films? Are there any other movies that you've always struggled to understand? Let us know below…
More on Yahoo! Movies:
- Black Swan review
- Most controversial films ever
- Up-and-coming movie stars of 2011
Follow Yahoo! Movies on Twitter - http://twitter.com/YahooMoviesUK
