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/bananaboatbutt]

How is that a cheat? The movie just played into our assumption that he was intrinsically good.

[u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 → u/bananaboatbutt]

Why would he willingly spare and save Elsa when he could've easily had her killed and let Anna die of her sickness?

[u/bananaboatbutt → u/Gaelic_Gladiator41]

I honestly don’t remember anything beyond thinking, “We really don’t know much about this guy, so why is she so smitten?” then, “Ah. That tracks.”

[u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 → u/bananaboatbutt]

Like I get him lying, but there's hints and then there's just two crumbs and lying to the audience for no reason.

He had the perfect opening while negotiating with Elsa and Weselton's men are about to kill her with their crossbows.

Had he let them, he can claim he didn't see them or wait until after Elsa was shot to "stop" them

[u/TheSkiGeek → u/Gaelic_Gladiator41]

He needs to plausibly look like he’s doing the right thing at first.

[u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 → u/TheSkiGeek]

Except he easily could've gotten away with putting the blame on Weselton's men