Mrs. Weber didn't want to confuse the few who saw it. This is where comic book movies end - due to incompetence, lazy filmmaking, or some other reason we may never know for sure.
Yet many directors create films designed to confuse the audience, imploring them to unravel the plot threads and find the true message of the story. Most of the time, they are successful. But some movies leave viewers frustrated and still searching for the meaning of the movie long after the closing credits roll. Here are a dozen of the baker's films that are known for confusing and bewildering audiences.
Creed (2020)
There are tons of blog posts and YouTube videos claiming they can explain the plot of Christopher Nolan's time travel adventure. While it does have some jaw-dropping action scenes, even the Oscar-winning director admitted that the film, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, "isn't entirely comprehensible," so if you Watch this mind-bending thriller and enjoy the drive.
Where to Stream: Digital Rental
Dune (1984)
Honestly, almost any film directed by surrealist David Lynch would fit into this list, but none of them would require a glossary to explain the world Lynch created based on Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece. When you also consider that director Denis Villeneuve managed to adapt the same novel into two hit movies, you start to wonder if "Mulholland Drive" is really that complicated.
Where to stream: Max, digital rental
Enemy (2014)
Speaking of Denis Villeneuve, the director reunited him with the film's star Jake Gyllenhaal in the follow-up to The Moody Prisoner . This absolute head-scratcher about a dual personality didn't garner much attention upon its release, as is the fate of most of A24's non-horror offerings. (Its marketing team doesn't seem to know how to sell a movie without cool appeal.) In the decade since its release, it has achieved cult status, and its Canadian-born director has moved on to big-budget movies with Arrival ” along with his two “Dune” film adaptations.
Where to play: Kanopy, Cinemax, digital rental
Barton Fink (1991)
The Coen brothers' film about a pretentious screenwriter trying to unleash his creativity won multiple awards at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, including the top prize, the Palme d'Or. but why? Is it because it's a good satire of Hollywood, or is it a metaphor for heaven and hell? It's probably a bit of both, but when you see John Goodman running down a hot hotel hallway with a shotgun at the end of the movie, you might be wondering what message the director was actually trying to convey.
Where to Stream: Digital Rental
Innately Evil (2014)
Joaquin Phoenix stars as an investigator trying to find his missing ex-girlfriend and her wealthy new boyfriend, but in an entertaining film filled with a '70s rock soundtrack, mind-bending contradictions and a labyrinthine plot that requires multiple viewings , the case has been expanded to three. The good news is that Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's equally complex novel is a movie you'll really want to revisit.
Where to stream: Paramount+ and Showtime, digital rental
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Your favorite director's favorite movie has an ending so unusual and mysterious that you have to watch its inferior sequel , 2010: The Year We Made Contact , to understand what it all means. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this classic film still (rather surprisingly) retains its groundbreaking special effects and is worth watching.
Where to stream: Max, digital rental
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
The film brings together every great British actor of the past 30 years, but condensing John le Carré's complex, intricate spy novel into something digestible is something the filmmakers couldn't achieve. Instead, you can watch the 1979 BBC film adaptation starring Alec Guinness as ex-spy George Smiley, which tells the story of a double agent in just over five hours and stories of betrayal.
Where to play: Starz, digital rental
Under the Skin (2014)
There are plenty of subreddits dedicated to explaining Oscar-winner Jonathan Glazer's film about an alien (Scarlett Johansson) who seduces and harvests humans (we think), but then begins Sympathize with them (this is a theory). It all comes down to a powerful scene of a baby alone on the beach, which for some crystallizes the film's themes, but for others muddies the plot.
Live broadcast location: Kanopy, Max, digital rental
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Philip Seymour Hoffman played an incarnation for the film's writer-director Charlie Kaufman. He strives to stage plays in a life-size replica of New York City that he built when he won a MacArthur Grant. Over time, the distinction between the drama and the real world becomes muddled, leaving the actors (and the film's audience) struggling to figure out what's really going on.
Where to Stream: Digital Rental
Annihilation (2018)
As evidenced by a more than 20% gap between critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, this visually stunning and bizarre sci-fi film starring Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac impressed fans. There are more questions than answers. It's about a biologist trying to discover what happened to her husband during a phenomenon called "The Shimmer," but the film's ambiguous ending is likely to leave viewers confused and frustrated.
Where to play: Pluto TV, digital rental
Asteroid City (2023)
It opens with another cheesy Wes Anderson movie about aliens making contact with humans in the titular desert town. As the characters deal with the uncertainty of this development, it suddenly becomes a meta-satire about...storytelling? If you're already a fan of Anderson's style, there's a lot to like here. If not, it's doubtful this jumble of starry gems will sway you.
Where to stream: Prime Video, digital rental
Fountain (2006)
Brad Pitt reportedly quit the film because he found the script co-written by Darren Aronofsky illogical. Pitt was replaced by Hugh Jackman, who searched for immortality in three different timelines. For the few who saw it, the stories never came together, and it's now considered one of the biggest box office flops of all time.
Where to Stream: Digital Rental
Naked Lunch (1991)
Critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert said in TV reviews that they admired David Cronenberg's adaptation of William S. Burroughs' novel about paranoia and addiction, but that Don't recommend it. It's not hard to see why. Cronenberg incorporated elements of the Beat writer's life and work into the script, but the film's occult elements and talking bugs make the plot nearly incomprehensible.
Where to stream: Max
