# Clever movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217 "2018-05-31T19:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/1 "2018-05-31T19:52:23Z")
Memento - the scenes are shown end to beginning. At the start of the movie you see how it ended and throughout the movie you find out how they got there. Inception - dream (within a dream (within a dream)), etc What movies do you find clever? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/2 "2018-05-31T20:07:38Z")
_The Usual Suspects_ - the classic “unreliable narrator” concept brought to film. I’ll note that getting clever is a fine line. If the filmmaker gets too “clever,” he risks losing the audience. For example, I gave up two thirds of the way through _Inception_. I kept watching, but stopped trying to figure out what was happening. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/3 "2018-05-31T21:12:04Z")
A TV show, rather than a movie, but Key: The Metal Idol is like Lost if Lost had been planned out in advance, with a wide range of characters with a wide history, and the flashbacks and reveals are carefully planned out to flip around everything you think about every character 180 degrees every episode. > [@StraightTalk](#): > > Memento - the scenes are shown end to beginning. At the start of the movie you see how it ended and throughout the movie you find out how they got there. > > Inception - dream (within a dream (within a dream)), etc > > What movies do you find clever? Note: Both of these movies were written by the same person. See also Westworld and Person of Interest. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/4 "2018-05-31T21:16:53Z")
Some people on this board hate Peter Greenaway’s movies, but they amuse me. _The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_ and _Drowning by Numbers_ are like logic puzzles. You spend the early part of the film figuring out the rules of the game, then spend the rest of the film trying to see if he ever breaks the rules. (If he broke the rules in _DbN_, I didn’t catch it. He does break the rules in _CTWL_. Was he making some kind of grand artistic statement, or did he just not have enough money for another set of costumes?) In _The Draughtsman’s Contract_, the sex and violence are just a pretext to get you into the theater, so he can give you a lecture on drafting and architecture. In _The Pillow Book_, the sex and violence are just a pretext to get you into the theater, so he can give you a lecture on paper-making and poetry. In _Prospero’s Books_ . . . oh, who cares? It’s Shakespeare, with a bunch of naked people running around in the background! It’s just fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/5 "2018-05-31T21:32:03Z")
I’ve always liked “Being There” with Peter Sellers. The Gardiner was a very simple man, however he rose to fame because people thought has was speaking in profound metaphors. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/6 "2018-05-31T21:46:34Z")
> [@StraightTalk](#): > > Memento - the scenes are shown end to beginning. At the start of the movie you see how it ended and throughout the movie you find out how they got there. > > Inception - dream (within a dream (within a dream)), etc > > What movies do you find clever? > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Note: Both of these movies were written by the same person. Add _ **The Prestige** _ to the Nolan brothers’ list of clever movies. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/7 "2018-05-31T21:58:13Z")
“After The Dark” is a good one. However, that little twist at the very end was beyond stupid. Have no idea why they put that in there. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/8 "2018-05-31T22:13:26Z")
We mock him now, but M. Night Shyamalan did a great job with _The Sixth Sense_. The clues were there throughout the movie but he successfully misdirected our attention. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/9 "2018-05-31T23:01:09Z")
It’s almost a cliché, but stop and marvel at just how much exposition they cram in, without _seeming_ like they’re cramming it in, as BACK TO THE FUTURE works through maybe 20 solid minutes of ‘necessity’ passed off as ‘conversational’. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/10 "2018-05-31T23:17:27Z")
One of my favorite clever movies was “The Last of Sheila.” The clue to the mystery is right there in the title.Not to mention the (mostly) wonderful cast, including James Mason, Dyan Cannon and Joan Hackett. There’s also “The Other” also from way back when, based on a novel by Tom Tryon. I thought this was a very fair surprise ending (i.e. the clues were there all along). Also, it had Uta Hagen in it, and how often do you get to see her on screen? Plus Diana Muldaur, back before she was annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/11 "2018-05-31T23:31:08Z")
Thread relocated from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/12 "2018-05-31T23:39:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > We mock him now, but M. Night Shyamalan did a great job with _The Sixth Sense_. The clues were there throughout the movie but he successfully misdirected our attention. It was an excellent movie. He’s mocked now because all of his other movies were disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/13 "2018-05-31T23:40:51Z")
“This is Spinal Tap”. Well, I guess it’s a fine line. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/14 "2018-06-01T00:10:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It was an excellent movie. He’s mocked now because all of his other movies were disappointing. Well, perhaps many of us went into the first one not knowing there was even a big twist? So when it came it was unexpected and frankly awesome. After that, we now knew he was the guy who puts twists in, so we were watching his movies with different expectations. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/15 "2018-06-01T00:12:46Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Well, perhaps many of us went into the first one not knowing there was even a big twist? So when it came it was unexpected and frankly awesome. After that, we now knew he was the guy who puts twists in, so we were watching his movies with different expectations. Even if I hadn’t seen the Sixth Sense there wasn’t any kind of twist worth mentioning in his other movies. Sixth Sense was done well, maybe an accident, maybe he had the right help, maybe the actors were better, whatever, it’s more than just an unexpected twist that makes the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/16 "2018-06-01T00:18:37Z")
I found [Primer](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/) pretty clever. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/17 "2018-06-01T00:26:16Z")
_Identity_ with John Cusack ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/18 "2018-06-01T00:35:57Z")
Maximilian Schell got an Oscar nomination for **The Man In The Glass Booth**. Part One: the simple default is that everything fits and he is who he says he is; but there’s reason to believe he _isn’t,_ since he does dubious stuff. Part Two: this story would explain that stuff. Part Three: you know what else can explain everything? Yeah, you do; we already covered that; it was the simplest fit, remember? That’s some fair-play mystery stuff right there. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/19 "2018-06-01T01:52:14Z")
> [@StraightTalk](#): > > Memento - the scenes are shown end to beginning. At the start of the movie you see how it ended and throughout the movie you find out how they got there. > > Inception - dream (within a dream (within a dream)), etc > > What movies do you find clever? I was just thinking those when I read your OP. To the Nolan mix, I would add \*Dunkirk \*with it’s triple timeline narrative. The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (_Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End)_ are all fairly clever ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217/20 "2018-06-01T02:12:54Z")
Following. I only own 3 or 4 DVDs and that’s one of them. It’s one of the few movies I’ve told people they need to watch and handed them the DVD. Every person I lent it to had their mind blown. Also, it’s Christopher Nolan’s first movie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clever-movies/815217.md?page=2)