Summary
Certain movies demand the audience’s attention from beginning to endbecause they won’t understand what is going on otherwise.Confusing movies with complicated endingscan be very satisfying to watch if the viewer accomplishes the impossible and comprehends everything that happens on screen. Oftentimes, this is due to non-linear narratives and speculative scientific premises, showcasing characters who are supposed to be experts in a specific field while the audience is not.
It is no secret that some ofChristopher Nolan’s best (and worst) moviesare major offenders in this regard, as the Oscar-winning director has always favored twisting narratives and complex sci-fi.Some mysteries and psychological thrillers also require brainpower from the audiencewhen it is implied that what is seen on screen cannot be trusted. Within all of these subgenres,movies might not make sense until the very end, as that is when all questions will be answered — or even more will come up.
10 Complicated Sci-Fi Movies That Went Too Far
Understanding overly complex sci-fi movies entails not just suspending disbelief, but also focusing on the human stories beneath the fringe science.
10Tenet (2020)
Nolan’s Unconventional Time Travel Adventure Has Multiple Layers
Tenetrevolves around a deeply fascinating approach to time travel where characters move backward through time, with all their actions happening in reverse. The movie soon spins out of control when it is revealed that there are layers upon layers of different people who have been traveling backward for years, possibly changing direction at some point.Some ofTenet’s reveals of a previously anonymous character being one of the main cast from the future are satisfying,while audiences are still working out others.
Tenet’s ending explained is not simple, and the movie feels like it has some plot holes, but the whole thing is too complicated to identify them.
Tenet’s ending explainedis not simple, and the movie feels like it has some plot holes, but the whole thing is too complicated to identify them. Additionally,Tenettends to introduce new characters and missions rapidly, possibly losing some people who want a clearer explanation of what everyone is doing. They are all highly trained agents who can keep up with fast-paced scientific diatribes, but that doesn’t mean the audience can unless they are listening aptly at every moment.
Tenet
Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a nameless Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
9Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind (2004)
Eternal Sunshine’s Seemingly Simple Premise Is Entwined With A Complicated Narrative
The basic premise ofEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindis easy enough to understand: In this setting, medicine is advanced enough to erase a couple’s memories of each other through surgery. However, this is soon complicated through flashbacks, mental projections, and subplot twists.Joel and Clementine’s relationship is primarily revealed through flashbacksas Joel is undergoing the procedure, which itself becomes harder to understand when the technicians need to restart it.
Meanwhile, the Lacuna employees are involved in their own drama which leads to one of them sending Joel and Clementine the tapes of their memories, just after they have gotten back together. Despite what the tapes reveal, they decide to try again.Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindisn’t a movie of specifics;the audience is meant to suspend its disbelief in the science and logic of it all in service of a story about love being messy.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski, a couple who rediscover their love after erasing each other from their memories. The 2004 drama is written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and includes Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson in its cast.
8Lost Highway (1997)
Parallel Storylines Overlap In Lost Highway
David Lynch’s underrated movieLost Highwayis a complete mess of unresolved mysteries and possible double identities, a strange transition midway through that maybe implies different characters are the same, and a ghostly voyeur stalking and commenting upon events throughout the movie. Like some other possible dream-sequence movies,Lost Highwayis up for interpretation.The mysteries of who Pete and Alice are to Fred and Renee are unsolved, before segueing into the movie’s open ending.
Essentially, the second half of the movie and the connections drawn between different characters must have some kind of symbolic meaning. Most likely,Lost Highwayis showcasing a perversion of Fred’s insecurity in his relationship with his wifeand the kind of dynamic he wants to have. However, viewers are welcome to scrutinize every scene and come to their own conclusions.
7Black Swan (2010)
The Main Character’s Perspective Cannot Be Trusted In Black Swan
Black Swanhinges on everything the audience sees is what Nina sees, although this may not be what is happening in the movie’s reality.Nina believes that her understudy for the lead role inSwan Lakemeans to harm herin order to dance on opening night. Nina supposedly dies on opening night after finishing the performance, believing that she has escaped a brutal fight with Lily when she actually stabbed herself.
TheBlack Swancast is symbolically associated with the main characters ofSwan Lake;namely Odette, the innocent Swan Queen, and Odile, the seductive and manipulative Black Swan. It is possible to explain everything unrealistic, or that another character says didn’t happen, by concluding that it was Nina hallucinating. However,Black Swanstill leaves many questions in its wake about the meaning of everything— while one can interpret everything in a literal sense, they still have to think about what everything that happens is figuratively conveying.
Black Swan
In Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan, talented ballet dancer Nina Sayers struggles with her mental health while preparing for her performance in a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Natalie Portman earned a Best Actress Oscar in the lead role, and the cast made up of Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder received high praise from critics and audiences.
6Arrival (2016)
Arrival’s Story Moves Forwards & Backwards Through Linguistic Concepts
Arrivalbegins at the end, something the viewer does not realize until late in the story.Arrivalhas an incredibly weighty tone that already demands attention,as every translation and deliberation has potentially catastrophic consequences. In its defense, the narrative of the main character figuring out how to communicate with the aliens who have arrived on planet Earth is engaging and curates an appreciation for the field of linguistics.
However,Arrival’s plot twistdepends upon an understanding of language that inherently cannot be understood.Real languages do not work the way the alien one does inArrival,granting the learner future insights just by being able to understand it. Every scene in the movie needs to be watched carefully to determine when it is happening in the characters' timeline, but it may still be difficult to wrap one’s head around this core concept.
Arrival
Arrival is a science fiction film centered on linguist Louise Banks, who is recruited by the military after alien spacecraft land across the globe. Tasked with determining the extraterrestrials' intentions, she embarks on a critical mission to decipher their complex language, exploring themes of communication and time.
20 Sci-Fi Movies To Watch If You Like Arrival
Arrival is arguably the greatest success Denis Villeneuve has had in sci-fi. If you like that film, check out these similar sci-fi movies.
5Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Everything Everywhere All At Once Is A Tapestry Of Different Universes & Timelines
Everything Everywhere All at Oncethrives on chaos and confusion, blurring together Evelyn’s many different realities. The story is easy enough to follow, but in the end, it is not clear which Wang family the audience is now viewing. Meanwhile, the movies cuts between different universes at a rapid pace, andit’s sometimes not clear how Evelyn and Joy got to where they are in a specific setting.
However,Everything Everywhere All at Once’s meaningis dependent upon this confusion, making it a uniquely satisfying mess.Jobu Tupaki’s character exposits complete nihilism stemming from there being too many realitiesfor individual lives and experiences to mean anything. The movie arrives at the conclusion that all the characters can do is enjoy the life they have because it at least means something to them. The cacophony of alternatives the audience sees before then elevates the message, even if the they don’t completely understand it.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
4Memento (2001)
Memento’s Inverted Narrative Is Full Of Surprises
AtMemento’s ending, the action scene at the beginning doesn’t quite connect, possibly necessitating a second viewing.Mementodepicts events happening in reverse order, where the protagonist doesn’t remember what happened momentsbefore due to short-term memory loss. After adjusting to this format, the viewer might feel like the mystery is easily understood as it unravels. However, they still need to pay close attention as some less pertinent details are going to come back around later.
The conclusion is that the protagonist has constructed a dangerous reality for himself to have a sense of purpose following a tragedy in his life. When watching the movie for the first time, unaware of how the narrative works, it can be difficult to pick up on the sequence of events. Like several of Nolan’s movies,Mementois an intellectual and philosophical challenge.
Memento
Christopher Nolan’s Memento is a psychological thriller that tells the story of Leonard, a former insurance investigator who suffers from a disease that prevents his brain from storing short-term memories. The one thing he can remember is murder of his wife, for which he wishes to exact revenge. Starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss, the movie was released in 2000 to widespread acclaim, launching the director’s successful Hollywood career.
3The Game (1997)
David Fincher’s Thriller About A Banker Wading Through The Game Of Truth & Lies
The Game’s ending, like several other similar movies, leaves many questions unanswered concerning what was real after all.The mysterious CRS orchestrates everything that happens throughoutThe Game,creating shock value when it is revealed that it is all a part of the plan. The events that play out in the movie are apparently set in motion by the main character’s brother to end his cynical lifestyle and existential crisis.
Yet maybe these events were not based on good intentions, but are just a cruel capitalist venture. However,The Game’s ending implies that Nicholas is now in a better place when he agrees to go out with Christine.One theory is thatThe Gameis loosely based onA Christmas Carol,which encapsulates a version of its moral. In a basic sense,The Gameis also about a grumpy miser put through a series of semi-realistic dangers that force him to make changes in his life.
The Game
Directed by David Fincher, The Game is a mystery thriller released in 1997. Michael Douglas stars as Nicholas Van Orton, an investment banker brought into a mysterious game by his brother hosted by the wealthy. As the game continues to integrate into his life, he begins to see the cracks in the facade of the group’s game, ultimately revealing a dark conspiracy at the center.
2Mulholland Drive (2001)
Mulholland Drive Has Famously Puzzled Audiences For Decades
Like Nolan, David Lynch apparently loves creating baffling narratives.Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive,andInland Empireform an unofficial trilogy of movies all set in Hollywood and pondering questions of desire and identity.LikeLost Highway,Mulholland Driveimplies the possibility of everything being a dreamthat represents something one of the main characters wants. In this case, the movie delves into what Diane Selwyn wants through her alleged dream sequence.
There are many different interpretations of Mulholland Drive and what it has to say about Hollywood, relationships, and identity.
There are many differentinterpretations ofMulholland Driveand what it has to say about Hollywood, relationships, and identity. However, if the first half of the movie is a dream — which many people agree that it is — both what Betty and Rita do in the"dream"and what Diane and Camilla do in"real life"must have been chosen deliberately.Mulholland Drivechallenges viewers to watch carefully to discover all its nuancesand perhaps come to a more definitive conclusion.
Mulholland Drive
David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is a neo-noir mystery about aspiring actress Betty, who becomes involved with a woman suffering from amnesia and a mysterious blue box. Starring Naomi Watts and Laura Harring, the 2001 surrealist film explores themes of identity, memory, and Hollywood’s dark side.
8 Confusing Movies I Only Got On A Rewatch
I’ve found that the best film-viewing experiences come from rewatching a confusing film and understanding everything you missed the first time.
1Inception (2010)
It Is Never Clear What Is Real In Nolan’s Career-Defining Inception
Inception’s endingfamously has no answer, and fans will never know for sure if Cobb made it back to his children or if he is still dreaming.The mechanics ofInceptionare complicated enough,with Cobb’s team moving swiftly through one dream layer to the next. However, the movie certainly enjoys revealing that a character is dreaming multiple times within the first few minutes, instantly establishing a muddled definition of reality.
In other words,it is necessary to pay attention to every scene to keep up with what Cobb, Arthur, Ariadne, and the rest are doing.Like some other confusing sci-fi movies,Inceptionis built on a speculative premise and features a narrative that treats it as real, with complex explanations. How certain characters get in and out of dreams is still unclear, forcing people to watchInceptionagain and again.
Inception
Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, features a skilled thief who uses dream-sharing technology to steal corporate secrets. He is tasked with planting an idea into a CEO’s mind, while confronting his troubled past, which threatens the mission and his team.
