# Movies where the timeline is not linear **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 13, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169 "2023-01-13T15:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/1 "2023-01-13T15:05:30Z")
Right after Pulp Fiction came out, they were all the rage. I especially remember Go with Katie Holmes. Loved that one and sorry it didn’t hit with people. Another was a foreign film-- I don’t remember if it came before or after Pulp Fiction-- named Run, Lola, Run. It was non-linear but not quite the same way as PF and Go. It’s timeline is a bit more like Groundhogs Day. Any more good examples? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/2 "2023-01-13T15:21:22Z")
_Primer_ seems to be a great example. I’ve not seen it, though. _Dunkirk_ with its multiple storylines happening pretty much simultaneously can be confusing if you’re not paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/3 "2023-01-13T15:28:28Z")
_Memento_ is about a character with short-term amnesia trying to solve a murder, is filmed in reverse-chronological order. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/4 "2023-01-13T15:28:45Z")
An earlier example is Stanley Kubrick’s _The Killing_. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/5 "2023-01-13T15:33:41Z")
_Cloud Atlas_? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/6 "2023-01-13T15:35:54Z")
In fact Pulp Fiction was an homage to The Killing. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/7 "2023-01-13T15:45:16Z")
Catch-22. But the book is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/8 "2023-01-13T16:46:19Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > In fact Pulp Fiction was an homage to The Killing. The structure of _Pulp Fiction_ is definitely inspired by _The Killing_, but _Reservoir Dogs_ is actually more of a direct homage, and also has a non-linear structure (the inciting incident of the heist is never shown, and then several characters are introduced in flashback). A [lot of films have a non-linear structure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nonlinear_narrative_films) in terms of bookending and extensive narrative flashback, but what I find particularly difficult to do well are films told in reverse; in addition to @YamatoTwinkie’s reference to [_Memento_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/), there is Gaspar Noé’s [_Irreversible_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290673/) (where it is something of a gimmick), and my favorite, [_Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/) written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Micheal Gondry, where the film is literally being told in reverse as the protagonist is re-experiencing memories as they are being erased, bookended by his pre- and post-erasure condition. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/9 "2023-01-13T16:54:32Z")
After the first few minutes, the story of _ **Double Indemnity** _ is told in the form of flashbacks through Neff’s confession. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/10 "2023-01-13T17:07:10Z")
_Slaughterhouse-Five_ (based on Kurt Vonnegut’s novel of the same name) is told out of chronological order, as it’s the story of Billy Pilgrim, a man who is “unstuck in time” – its scenes go back and forth between Billy’s experiences as a soldier in World War II, his postwar life as a family man and optometrist, and his abduction by aliens. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/11 "2023-01-13T17:15:20Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > _Dunkirk_ with its multiple storylines happening pretty much simultaneously can be confusing if you’re not paying attention. > [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > _Memento_ is about a character with short-term amnesia trying to solve a murder, is filmed in reverse-chronological order. Pretty much all of Nolan’s movies, outside of the Batman trilogy mess around with time in some way. For example in _The Prestige_ the movie is told through the device of one character reading another character’s diary in which he’s reading the original character’s diary. ---
**Author:** ![Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc8723/32.png) [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Levolor_the_Blind)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/12 "2023-01-13T17:26:12Z")
It has been some years since I’ve seen it but _Passage to Marseille_ (1944) is told in the style of flashback within another flashback within another until the whole story snaps back to the ‘now’ of the opening scene. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/13 "2023-01-13T17:39:35Z")
The whole middle third of **this movie** is in the form of a hallucination. I was confused the first time I saw it, and a second viewing didn’t help. > **[The Chase (1946 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(1946_film))** > > The Chase is a 1946 American film noir directed by Arthur Ripley. The screenplay by Philip Yordan is based on Cornell Woolrich's 1944 novel The Black Path of Fear. It stars Robert Cummings as Chuck Scott, a veteran who suffers from hallucinations. When he returns a lost wallet to violent mobster Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran), Eddie offers to hire him as a chauffeur. Chuck becomes mixed up in a plot to help Eddie's wife Lorna (Michèle Morgan) run off to Havana to escape her cruel husband. > Chuck S... ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/14 "2023-01-13T17:41:02Z")
_Momento_ is still linear even though it’s backwards. _Rashomon_ needs to be mentioned. _(500) Days of Summer_ bounces around a lot. But that’s a terrible movie with an insufferable protagonist. So let’s go† with _Brick_. It’s not _Pull Fiction_ level nonlinear, but it uses a fairly common method. It begins with a brief but impactful scene in the middle of the story, then goes back to the beginning. When the movie meets up with the opening scene, it continues from there. †: I love _Go_ the nonlinear movie. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/15 "2023-01-13T18:05:24Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > _Momento_ is still linear even though it’s backwards. Within the individual scene/segment, its still plays out normally. There are also the black & white segments interspersed that are in regular chronological order. The timeline looks more like a sawtooth than something that could be described as “linear”. [Memento Timeline - Memento (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_(film)#/media/File:Memento_Timeline.png) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/16 "2023-01-13T18:25:28Z")
_Sin City_. Both of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/17 "2023-01-13T19:02:42Z")
_Citizen Kane_ (1941) – Which set a much-copied standard for flashback-filled dramas. _The Locket_ (1946) – Like _Passage to Marseilles_, it features flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks. _Last Year at Marienbad_ (1967) – Screenwriter Alain Robbe-Grillet also wrote and directed a number of films, many of which are nonlinear (and boring). _Two for the Road_ (1967) – In which Audrey Hepburn gets to wear high fashion from top designers in multiple time periods. _Happy End_ (1967) – In which the narrative is told in reverse from the protagonist’s execution to his birth. _One Deadly Summer_ (1983) – In which different characters take turns narrating events of the story. Re: _Reservoir Dogs_ – “Hong Kong film director Ringo Lam saw the Indian film Gaddaar (Vinod Khanna), years ago. He took the basic idea of the plot and made “City On Fire”. Quentin Tarantino’ saw that film and was inspired to make Reservoir Dogs. Sanjay Gupta decided to make his own version with Kaante.” [from IMDB _City on Fire_ Trivia] ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/18 "2023-01-13T19:28:28Z")
Kill Bill (both movies) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/19 "2023-01-13T19:43:30Z")
Recently, Glass Onion _Gambit_. The movie shows a heist, then goes back to show what really happened. _Annie Hall_. When it was first broadcast, ABC had extra operators on duty to field complaints about the use of the word “asshole.” But the biggest complaint they fielded was that the (non-linear) film was being shown out of order. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/20 "2023-01-13T20:31:30Z")
My first thought was indeed _Citizen Kane_. Surely the grandaddy of them all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169.md?page=2)