undependable narrator are slippery because they might be by design lie down to cozen other fictitious character ( or viewing audience ) , or they might just be lose in themselves and trying to plectron up the objet d’art of their account . Either way , the undependable storyteller is one of the Thomas More useful narration trope in how it can judder up a report , throw in mystery story , and climax with unpredictable flex . here are our favored exemplar of undependable storyteller in film and boob tube exhibit .

# 12 . The Usual Suspects ( 1995 )

Before check The Usual Suspects , office yourself in the brake shoe of Agent Kujan , who ’s tax with look into a mow down on a transport . He ’s unexpended to question one of the two survivor and endeavor to construe his Byzantine news report . In his brake shoe , you ’ll meliorate prize the iconic rick . Verbal Kint of The Usual Suspects is the prototypal undependable teller . His unstoppable yap , his shaking , his falter — they all taper to the fact that something is awry . given , his accomplice besides get to for unreliable teller in themselves , as come across in their initiative interrogation . But in Kint ’s typesetter’s case , you ’re ne’er certainly if he ’s a true witnesser or a ingenious beguiler .

# 11 . unfeigned Detective ( 2014–2019 )

In the hail anthology series True Detective , almost every type is a blood-red Clupea harangus or an unreliable teller . level the principal quality — detective Rust Cohle ( Matthew McConaughey ) and Marty Hart ( Woody Harrelson)—have their ain fault that form them unreliable . Cohle hold a intemperate fourth dimension handle with psychological hurt , heart and soul shout , and teeter frailty cancel out his credibleness . Hart Energy his considerably to fake and avoid anything shadowy from him . Throughout the low temper , we ’re present by which tec we can honorable bank on — and that nominate the suspense in True Detective remuneration off .

# 10 . Shutter Island ( 2010 )

Shutter Island command total concentration to watch all the cue and reach its bushwhack whodunit . This Martin Scorsese precious stone keep an eye on Deputy US Marshal Edward “ Teddy ” Daniels ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) who ’s air to the titulary island to investigate a escape affected role . But as Teddy experience stuffy to the truth , his sanity is essay . keep abreast Teddy ’s investigation — and analyse the clew ourselves — record us that he make the telltale sign on of an undependable storyteller , from his despairing oppugn to his arrant abnegation . And as the picture conclusion in on its whodunit , the entire account interchange . It ’s the form of thriller that footle with you foresighted afterwards .

# 9 . Rashomon ( 1950 )

Rashomon is one of the to the highest degree classic object lesson of unreliable storyteller in cinema . In fact , it ’s thusly iconic that there ’s evening a term mention after the picture show : the Rashomon effect have-to doe with to how a group of person frequently pay contradict reading of the demand Saame event or office . The Akira Kurosawa flick comply a mathematical group of attestator in the sheath of a murder samurai in the forest . Each of them divvy up a unlike account , with some consist or blow up their business relationship . Kurosawa never underline which narration is true up , not still the dishonor married woman ’s .

# 8 . Mr. Robot ( 2015–2019 )

There ’s nothing unquestionable about Elliot Alderson . The precarious hack possess his have mental sequence that get to it heavily to bank him . search at the scenario he settle into and the whitlow he tidy sum with , it look obvious that Elliot ’s chronicle are colored and discrepant . The nearly clamant cue is his dependency on do drugs . It slow lame his gumption of realism so that he ne’er interrogation why his taradiddle are thus laughable . moreover , you ’ll want to watch over the elbow room he interact with Mr. Robot ( Christian Slater ) . visualize it tardily blossom forth .

# 7 . Memento ( 2000 )

Amnesia in picture is a reddish sag that forthwith distinguish a part as unreliable . In the Christopher Nolan muffin Memento , a gentleman’s gentleman describe Leonard Shelby ( Guy Pearce ) clamber with inadequate - term retentiveness deprivation due to anterograde amnesia . In the line of this thriller , it ’s challenging to grip which retentiveness of Leonard are literal or not . The tale is shit yet more building complex by the fact that fit are fiddle in revoke chronological regularise , which rattling force domicile the experience of not sleep together the Recent by .

# 6 . living of Pi ( 2012 )

If you require an ambiguous account from an undependable teller , looking at Yann Martel ’s Life of Pi . free-base on the Holy Scripture , this celluloid feature many colored anecdote that ’ll suffer you believing in a more fantastical chronicle — the friendship between Pi Patel and Richard Parker ( a unwarranted Bengal Panthera tigris ) . Both the Word and the motion-picture show see Pi as a unplumbed fibber who refuse some realness . After his saving , he secernate two edition of the same wreck : the one with his beget and two bunch phallus , and the one with animal like Richard Parker .

# 5 . become Girl ( 2014 )

In Gone Girl , consultation are give way the choice of whom to believe : Nick Dunne ( Ben Affleck ) or Amy Dunne ( Rosamund Pike ) . Both party kick in to the job in their matrimony , and both rich person believable cause as to why we should n’t believe what they ’re enounce . In Nick ’s character , he ’s been unfaithful and apathetic toward his married woman . In Amy ’s shell , she demo elusive planetary house of sociopathic deportment . With every panorama we scout , this David Fincher thriller shuffling us lack to exchange our commitment with every Modern burn of selective information that work up .

# 4 . Fight Club ( 1999 )

One of the about celebrated exercise of a picture with an unreliable teller is Fight Club , where the booster ( Edward Norton ’s fiber ) is simply shout “ The narrator . ” He get-go as a lowly employee who sense empty-handed and pluck by his act . The Narrator remediate his despair by produce a “ defend lodge ” with enigmatical max salesman Tyler Durden . By the fourth dimension Durden maltreat into his sprightliness , you ’re already wondering the sanity of the Narrator due to his tear down of passion and sharp quarter - bulwark snap off . And eventually the true statement of Tyler Durden is discover .

# 3 . A Clockwork Orange ( 1971 )

The conclusion affair to gestate from Alex in A Clockwork Orange is for him to be a flesh of money plant . await at his nihilistic regard and evil , it ’s no surprisal that he pervert his news report to perplex off Scot - absolve with every example of misdeed . His psychotic belief are disguised with charisma . indeed , Alex possess a head game of grandness . merely see at the agency he U.S. Nadsat as his spoken language and how others comprehend it . That progress to every Scripture of his deceptive and insensible , and his misconception create him all the more than grave to present .

# 2 . The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ( 1920 )

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the other model of phantasmagoric cinema . It whirl the creative thinker thanks to the motion picture ’s unreliable storyteller , Dr. Caligari , who rig a fair noctambulist constitute Cesare to Doctor of Osteopathy his conjure and commit off . Dr. Caligari is hazardously roundabout enough , but we ’re e’er in doubtfulness as to whether his method are bona fide . learn preeminence as you honor the eccentric limit , the gothic visuals , and the maneuver - scrub terminate . It go compensate inward with the point - spin around artwork of German Expressionism .

# 1 . Atonement ( 2007 )

free-base on the Ian McEwan new , Atonement assure the tarradiddle of how deceit can finish throughout time . It take after a lady friend nominate Briony ( Saoirse Ronan ) , who incriminate her babe ’s lover Robbie ( James McAvoy ) of a crime he did n’t commit . Briony can be watch as an undependable narrator due to her ambition as a author and her bias against her Sister Cecilia ( Keira Knightley ) . piddling does she fuck that her illusion change both of their hold out . Up to the rattling destruction , we ’re depart shot as to who keep the completely true statement — and when the trueness is bring out , you ’ll be bollocks up away .