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There’s something endlessly fascinating about films that take away the comfort of the conclusive truth from the viewers. The perfect way to pull this off is through an unreliable narrator, someone who cannot be trusted, one whose credibility is compromised. When this happens, each revelation becomes a riddle and each memory a doubt.
These ten films masterfully blur the line between reality and illusion, plagued with unpredictable twists and turns, leaving you questioning everything even everything after the credits roll.
In this taut Indian thriller, a young entrepreneur wakes up in a locked hotel room beside her lover’s corpse. Desperate for answers, she enlists the help of a proficient lawyer. As their conversation unfolds, so too does a web of lies, manipulation, and shifting realities
Sanjay Singhania, a wealthy businessman afflicted with short-term memory loss, embarks on a relentless quest to avenge the murder of his beloved. Armed only with tattoos, photographs, and fleeting recollections, his pursuit of justice becomes as fragmented as his memory.
Based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, this film follows an insomniac narrator drawn into the anarchic world of Tyler Durden. Their descent into chaos and rebellion against consumerist ennui takes a sharp turn, revealing that the true battle lies within.
When Clementine undergoes a procedure to erase memories of her relationship, Joel tries to mimic the same. But as his recollections fade, he realises he isn’t ready to let go. A poetic exploration of memory, love, and loss, the film cleverly distorts time and identity, turning the mind itself into an unreliable narrator.
This crime drama dissects the infamous 2008 Noida double-murder case of Aarushi Talwar an Hemraj Banjade. This film showcases three versions of the incident, told through conflicting investigations. The film exposes the malleability of ‘truth’ when filtered through bureaucracy, bias, and personal agendas.
When two seemingly unrelated murders occur, the only witnesses, Maya and Vikram offer wildly different accounts. As the police attempt to piece together the puzzle, it becomes clear that truth has many faces, and deception is a game both are willing to play.
A troubled boy claims he can see the dead. His psychologist, Malcolm Crowe, becomes entangled in a mystery that transcends the supernatural. With a now-legendary twist, the film forces the viewer to re-examine everything they’ve been told.
U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives on a remote island to investigate a patient’s disappearance. But as he delves deeper into the asylum’s secrets, questions of identity and sanity spiral out of control. The final twist redefines the entire narrative.
Pregnant and utterly determined, Vidya Bagchi journeys to Kolkata to find her missing husband. Amid the vibrant chaos of Durga Puja, she encounters layers of deceit, where nothing is as it appears and neither, perhaps, is she.
Leonard Shelby suffers from anterograde amnesia (a memory disorder where a person cannot form new memories after a specific event or injury) and is hunting his wife’s killer. But in a narrative told both forwards and backwards, memory itself becomes suspect. As Leonard’s system of notes and tattoos leads him forward, the audience is left to question whether vengeance is truth or just another lie he’s told himself.
These films exemplify the art of storytelling through unreliable narration, forcing audiences to participate in the unraveling of truth. Providing thought provoking narratives, inviting us to peer through the cracks of memory, morality, and mind.
(All images: IMDb)
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