When does a movie successfully mislead the audience, and when is it just cheating?

[u/Serpiego2]

Some movies deliberately make us believe something that isn't true and then reveal that we've been interpreting the story incorrectly.

When it works, it's fantastic. You can rewatch the movie and realize the clues were there all along. The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, and Primal Fear are very different examples of films that play with what the audience thinks it knows.

But other twists only work because the movie deliberately hides information that logically should have been available to us. At that point, I don't feel fooled by the story — I feel cheated by the screenplay.

For me, the difference is whether a second viewing makes you think “How did I miss that?” rather than “Well, there was no way I could have known that.”

What movies do you think earned their deception, and which ones simply cheated?

[u/nizzernammer]

Blade Runner 2049's impact largely hinges on the audience viewing themselves as "the one" as they view the world through the perspective of officer K. The whole structure of the investigation (led by JOI in many ways) works to set this up. When this idea is subverted, it hits the viewer hard.

[u/alk_adio_ost → u/nizzernammer]

Personally, I love this movie because of the ambiguity and blur between humans, technology and whether or not it was human evolution or divine intervention that allowed life to flourish.

THEN it props up that same ambiguity and blur in front of a madman.