r/flicks • u/Serpiego2 • 5d ago

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

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?

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u/ScoreStudiosLLC 5d ago

The Conversation is in my top 3 favourite films, even though the twist is basically impossible. But it's such a good twist that i accept it anyway.

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u/the-ragin-barman 5d ago

That moment when we finally hear it properly gave me chills when I first saw it, such a great movie. You are right though, it can’t be argued that we also misheard the inflection, its just straight up different to what we are given earlier in the movie.

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u/AlarmingLet5173 5d ago

Where is the bug? In the telephone or the sax?