The term “unreliable narrator” was coined by Wayne C. Booth in his 1961 book “The Rhetoric of Fiction.” Despite its recent recognition, the narrative device has been used in literature for centuries, and in the movies for almost a century. Writer James Frey defines it as “a narrator who can’t be trusted; one whose credibility is compromised.”
While far from complete, the titles discussed are high-profile movies employing variations on the unreliable narrator. The device generally, but not always, presented in the first person. Please note: There are some plot spoilers in this article.
Released just two years after the publication of the novel that shares its name, “The Great Gatsby” (1926) and its four remakes (1949, 1974, 2000, 2013) are narrated by Nick Carraway. Whether through selective memory, because of intoxication, poor memory, envy, or intentional concealment, Carraway’s recollection of events can’t be given full credence.
“Wuthering Heights” (1939, 1970, 1992, and 2011) features not one, but two unreliable narrators. Mr. Lockwood is the first, but he’s naïve, not deceptive. The true deception is carried out by Nelly, also known as Ellen, a longtime servant who generates and engineers mostly imagined friction between the leads.
Mrs. Danvers is also a household servant, and it’s clear from the onset of “Rebecca” (1940 and 2020) that she has a not-so-hidden agenda. When the second Mrs. de Winter arrives, Danvers begins feeding her true and false information about the late first Mrs. de Winter (first name, Rebecca). My take is that Danvers is jealous of Mr. de Winter and his second wife and will stop at nothing to eliminate or ruin both of them.
Enter Shakespeare
Not so much unreliable as he is untrustworthy and manipulative, the title character in “Richard III” (1955 and 1995) is adept at passing off the onus of his nefarious actions onto other, weaker characters. The 1995 version starring Ian McKellan is set in the 1930s. Richard is portrayed as a burgeoning Nazi, a not so subtle reference to would-be Nazi appeaser Neville Chamberlain, who regularly breaks the “fourth wall” (talking directly to the audience).
In the 25 adaptations of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” there are multiple third person narrators. Each narrator has a different take on the personality, behavior, and actions of supposed protagonist Raskolnikov, who may or may not be responsible for the deaths of two women.
The narrator and title character in the 13 adaptations of “Don Quixote” exaggerates and embellishes his past achievements and conquests (real and imagined) to such a degree, it becomes impossible to believe anything he says.
Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov learned how to speak and write English in order to author the book and the screenplay of the 1962 film adaptation of “Lolita,” directed by Stanley Kubrick. In it, lead character Humbert Humbert is a man whose attraction to underage girls makes him instantly unlikeable and loathsome.
Humbert’s relentless and unwavering arguments in trying to normalize and legitimize his behavior hits critical mass when he stalks another character, Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers) of the 1962 version for preying on the same girl he currently abuses. The 1997 remake directed by Adrian Lyne wasn’t quite as good, but gave the story a welcomed, dramatic approach.
Final Reveals
In both “The Usual Suspects” (1995) and “Fallen” (1998), the leads describe past criminal events involving a mysterious character who takes on traits of the same unsavory entity. Both movies wait until the final scenes to reveal the major twist, and each is equally seismic and ear-pinning.My two favorite entries in the unreliable narrator genre are “Fight Club” (1999) and “American Psycho” (2000). In both movies, the leads describe their ideal or perceived selves. In “Fight Club,” Edward Norton plays a narrator with multiple phony names who describes his exploits alongside a far more confident Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).
In “American Psycho,” Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a New York power broker who possesses an inflated and deadly bad boy persona of himself. Even after I watched the film multiple times, the character’s evil side is never made exactly clear.
Filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s first major studio effort, “Memento” (2000) stars Guy Pearce as Leonard, a man suffering from severe short term memory loss. He has tattoos all over his body in order to remind him of the most recent of events. The movie is presented in reverse chronology. Not to be confused with flashback, the device limits the audience’s understanding of events.
Based on the Daniel Wallace book, “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” director Tim Burton’s “Big Fish” (2003) stars Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney as the same man at different ages. Known as the teller of tall tales, the father makes himself out to be far more successful and grand than he is in real life. Via flashback, the son (Billy Crudup as Will) must determine what stories are true and which ones are exaggerated or fabricated outright.
A Dangerous Teen
“Atonement” (2007) makes uncommon use of the device because the unreliable narrator is Briony (Saoirse Ronan), a 13-year-old girl prone to bearing false witness. It opens in late 1930s England when Briony watches her older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley) argue with her boyfriend Robbie (James McAvoy). Secretly in love with Robbie, Briony accuses him of assaulting another person, which leads to him being sent to prison. This starts a series of tragic events that a now-adult Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) continues to further lie about what happened in a novel she is writing.In “Gone Girl” (2014), husband Nick (Ben Affleck) reports that his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing. Because he appears indifferent to the press and those around him, Nick becomes the principal suspect in what is now being considered a murder. At the halfway point, the very much alive Amy takes over the narration and reveals, sometimes under duress, that faking her own death was just her latest move in a series of evil, malicious cover-ups.
At this point, you might be asking yourself, why on earth would I want to invest my time, money, and emotions in a movie that purposefully misleads me?
In the great scheme of things, few movies include unreliable narration. It’s my experience that most critics will mention this in reviews without revealing much, if any, plot. If being misled by writers and directors in their films rubs you the wrong way, simply don’t watch them.
I like being challenged by a character who misleads the viewer, whether on purpose, by accident, or because of a lack of knowledge, if their telling of events is narratively appealing. I don’t want to be spoon fed a story, particularly one that goes comfortably from point A to point B with unremarkable ease; it’s lazy, unoriginal, and thunderously boring.
As a writer, I can only imagine how liberating and invigorating it would be to tweak and twist traditional narrative norms while keeping readers and viewers guessing the entire time. What a way to make a living!
