After my first mindfuck movie marathon earlier this year, I have once again been on a quest for more mindfuck movies. Here’s a quick rundown:
1. Magnolia – Tom Cruise, Julliane Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and many more star in this P.T.Anderson movie. This one shows the interconnectedness of the lives of people, and tackles issues of infidelity, bad parenthood and abused children across the different threads of story. I thought it was pretty much brilliant all across the board, especially Tom Cruise’s character.
2. The Game - This Michael Douglas starrer, directed by David Fincher, is a very slick, noir-esque thriller with a good script and fact paced action. It has many twists and turns, and can seem too cruel towards the end of the movie, but the ride is good and the acting is top notch!
3. Identity - Watched this on reccomendations online, but I was ultimately unsatisfied with the ending. A great deal of talent is involved and suspense is built masterfully. But the reveal is what breaks this one in my opinion.
4. A Beautiful Mind - I avoided this solely on the basis of the plot outline, which I was familiarized with many times before. But this movie proved out to be pretty well made. I loved the representaion of the psyche of Crowe’s character, and Crowe acted beautifully, a trully nuanced role which led to the believability of the constructed reality during the first half of the movie. Glad I gave it a look.
5. Groundhog Day - While not being as mindfuck as the others, it still fucked my mind in a more intellectually satiating manner. I was initially put off by the awful poster for the movie, but by god this movie was amazing! I loved the way that Murray’s character was played out, and it was a rational(or irrational) representation of my own doings, if I had been in the same situation. The very fine balance of drama and comedy added to the experience for me.
