# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/21 "2023-01-15T03:30:54Z")
We watched Citizen Kane in college film studies, and it was ground breaking for its time and many elements have become common place in today’s movie-making. It really was boring to watch, but great to analyze how movie techniques had changed form the early days. Rosebud ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/22 "2023-01-15T03:59:41Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > It really was boring to watch, Thank you for saying this. A lot of people are horrified, almost as if I’ve blasphemed a religion, when I’ve expressed that opinion of _Citizen Kane_. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/23 "2023-01-15T04:38:29Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > _Primer_ seems to be a great example. I’ve not seen it, though. Great low-budget sci-fi movie, taut as a thriller, extremely confusing. Requires a flow chart to fully comprehend (for me and probably 90% of the population.) > **[At Last, A Definitive Timeline for Primer](https://unrealitymag.com/at-last-a-definitive-timeline-for-primer/)** > > There's a reason I'm posting this as the last official article of the week, because it's probably going to take you all weekend (and then some) to figure ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/24 "2023-01-15T06:01:41Z")
One or two David Lynch films could be like that, like “Lost Highway”? “Rashomon”? “Sexy Beast” ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/25 "2023-01-15T06:40:38Z")
Missed edit window: Persona The Limey The Usual Suspects Lone Star ---
**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 15, 2023, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/26 "2023-01-15T09:35:31Z")
I saw it 20-odd years ago 2 or 3 times and although I wasn’t bored by it, I’ve had no great desire to watch it again since. As a technical exercise it is amazing but as a story, well it’s fine I suppose. ---
**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 15, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/27 "2023-01-15T17:48:38Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > One or two David Lynch films could be like that, like “Lost Highway”? Especially _Mulholland Drive,_ where it’s hard to figure out what the timeline actually is. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/28 "2023-01-15T18:44:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Especially _Mulholland Drive,_ where it’s hard to figure out what the timeline actually is. There are two independent timelines in the movie, that barely intersect. Maybe. And some supernatural stuff. maybe aliens, or angels. It’s for sure Lynch doesn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/29 "2023-01-15T18:47:46Z")
I would vote that when a movie starts in the “present”, and the movie then jumps back in time but is otherwise linear, doesn’t fit the criteria. So no DOA, Double Indemnity, Citizen Kane, but yes to Memento, Pulp Fiction, etc. I don’t know what Mulholland Drive is. 🙂 ---
**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 15, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/30 "2023-01-15T18:55:19Z")
I’m agreeing with this here assessment of non-linear. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/31 "2023-01-15T18:56:43Z")
**Mr. Nobody** I stumbled across this one yesterday. Really enjoyed it. ---
**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 15, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/32 "2023-01-15T19:13:53Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I would vote that when a movie starts in the “present”, and the movie then jumps back in time but is otherwise linear, doesn’t fit the criteria. So no DOA, Double Indemnity, Citizen Kane, but yes to Memento, Pulp Fiction, etc. I agree that bookends shouldn’t count. So no DOA. Likewise no Sunset Boulevard, or Saving Private Ryan. But Citizen Kane counts. It alternates between the present, and flashback. IIRC, the flashbacks weren’t sequential either. (And I also found it to be boring.) ---
**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 15, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/33 "2023-01-15T19:31:40Z")
Where would Rashomon fit in this discussion? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/34 "2023-01-15T20:01:07Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Lone Star My favorite (by far) of all the qualifying films mentioned so far. ---
**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 15, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/35 "2023-01-15T20:16:23Z")
Watchmen. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/36 "2023-01-16T03:01:08Z")
Saw this one last night [Brain Dead](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099173/?ref_=tt_rvi_tt_i_2), not sure if it was all in the guys mind, or flash backs or alternate realities or what, but the entire movie seemed very non-linear ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/37 "2023-01-16T03:30:04Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > “Sexy Beast” Huh? The one with Ben Kingsley? I don’t think any of it was out of order. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/38 "2023-01-16T05:10:39Z")
Actually I think you’re right. It’s been a while. I do recall the characters recounting previous histories of all of their lives, but yeah - they explained all of their recollections in chronological scenes, (the more I think it through). ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/39 "2023-01-16T09:19:43Z")
The Sixth Sense (1999) Crash (2004) ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169/40 "2023-01-16T12:10:15Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > _Primer_ seems to be a great example. I’ve not seen it, though. Good decision. Given the subject matter, it’s quite ironic that it’s two hours of my life I won’t get back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-timeline-is-not-linear/978169.md?page=3)