50 Unreliable Movie Narrators

Bunny And The Bull (2009)

The Unreliable Narrator: Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg), who recalls a road trip he embarked on with nutty buddy Bunny (Simon Farnaby).

Biggest Whopper: We imagine any bits where weird, giant puppets are involved were embellished upon slightly.

Double Indemnity (1944)

The Unreliable Narrator: Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) tells the story of how he met Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who wants to take out life insurance on her husband without him knowing.

Could she have murder on her mind?

Biggest Whopper: It's difficult to say, because everything we learn, we learn through Neff.

Still, we wouldn't trust him as far as we can throw him...

Secret Window (2004)

The Unreliable Narrator: Writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), who is accused of plagiarism by John Shooter (John Turturro).

This is, pivotally, after Rainey's suffered a mental break, having discovered his wife has been having an affair.

Biggest Whopper:
Turns out Rainey created Shooter himself as a conduit through which to commit murder.

So really, he's just been lying to himself as well as us...

Wonderland (2003)

The Unreliable Narrator: David Lind (Dylan McDermott) and Holmes (Val Kilmer) give their POVs on the murders of four drug dealers, and attempt to blame each other for the deaths.

But who's telling the truth?

Biggest Whopper: Let's put it this way; one of them is clearly guilty of murder...

Repulsion (1965)

The Unreliable Narrator: Carol (Catherine Deneuve), who's increasingly unhinged – not least when she has hallucinations that a man has broken into her apartment and is about to attack her.

Biggest Whopper:
Any time Carol kills somebody and then plays the victim.

As the final shot of a photograph of her as a child hints, she's not as innocent as she'd like us to believe.

Possessed (1947)

The Unreliable Narrator: Louise Howell (Joan Crawford) is treated at a psychiatric hospital where she tells her story – except most of the events she describes turn out to be hallucinations.

Biggest Whopper: Any moment when Louise starts having a flashback – because of her fragile state of mind, we shouldn't believe everything she tells (and shows) us.

Breaker Morant (1980)

The Unreliable Narrator: Christiaan Botha (Russell Kiefel) tells a story (in flashback) during a court trial in which three Australian Army officers are accused of murder.

Biggest Whopper: Botha's story is entirely made up, something that director Bruce Beresford reveals through the flashback.

Snake Eyes (1998)

The Unreliable Narrator: There are numerous unreliable narrators present in this Nic Cage vehicle, all of them used in flashback form in an attempt to reconstruct a crime.

Biggest Whopper: An unnamed criminal entirely fabricates his story. Loser.

Detour (1945)

The Unreliable Narrator: Al Roberts (Tom Neal) attempts to cut away a piece of his memory and “blot it out” in this classic noir thriller.

Does that mean he's also cutting away the truth?

Biggest Whopper:
Throughout the film, Roberts attempts to rationalise all of his actions – is it because he's covering up deep-seated guilt?

Sucker Punch (2011)

The Unreliable Narrator: Babydoll (Emily Browning), who narrates her OCD story while getting a lobotomy.

Which somewhat dents her credibility.

Biggest Whopper: Giant robots? Kick-ass mental patients in mini-skirts? Take your pick.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

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