What is it that makes people crave a twist ending? Why is it that people enjoy not having any idea about what's coming until it's already there? Storytellers have known for some time that twist endings can make a story more exciting. Movies benefit from twist endings as well.
The past decade has graced movie fans with plenty of great movies with twist endings. Here are a few for viewers who might have missed one or two.
Memento – 2000
Guy Pearce, Joe Pantoliano, and Carrie-Anne Moss star in this unusual thriller. The story begins with Leonard (played by Pearce) murdering someone. What makes the story so unique, though, is the fact that it is told from present to past. Each new scene is actually a moment earlier in time than the previous scene, intertwined with the far past.
What makes the technique of telling the story backwards successful is that Leonard suffers from short-term memory loss. Ever since an accident in the past, he cannot form new memories. To cope with this disability, he takes pictures of people he has met and tattoos clues on his body as he searches for his wife's killer. Viewers are treated to a twist as the story slowly unravels, showing them that not all is as it seems.
Vanilla Sky – 2001
Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee, Penelope Cruz, and Kurt Russell all grace this film with their talents. The movie starts out as David, played by Cruise, wakes up to begin his day and finds that no one is in the world. It turns out to be just a dream that he tells his psychiatrist (Russell). Apparently, David is in trouble and the psychiatrist must determine if Cruise's character was temporarily insane when he committed murder. Most of the movie deals with his past up to this point.
The twist in the film leads the movie from drama to science fiction, when viewers discover that David doesn't quite remember all of his past until this point. While there are clues about the ending throughout the movie, most viewers will not see it coming.
Frailty – 2001
This critically acclaimed film stars Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, and Powers Boothe. The movie begins when McConaughey walks into an FBI office and tells the agents that his name is Fenton Meiks. He tells his story to the agent played by Boothe – he says that when he was younger, his father (played by Paxton) woke up one day, telling his two sons that he had a vision from God. His mission was to destroy demons. Adam, the younger brother, believes his father, while Fenton thinks his father is now a serial murderer.
The twist in the film occurs near the end, and viewers realize that they haven't been told the whole truth up to this point. The ending is unpredictable and enjoyable.
More Movies with Unexpected Endings
While the above three movies are wonderful and unique, they are not the only movies with twist endings made in the past decade. Here is a list of a few others:
- The Others - 2001 (Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston)
- Minority Report – 2002 (Tom Cruise and Colin Farrell)
- The Ring – 2002 (Naomi Watts)
- Identity – 2003 (John Cusack and Ray Liotta)
- Gothika – 2003 (Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr.)
- The Skeleton Key – 2005 (Kate Hudson and Peter Sarsgaard)
- The Prestige – 2006 (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman)
- Running Scared – 2006 (Paul Walker and Vera Farmiga)
- A Perfect Getaway – 2009 (Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn)
For die-hard fans of movies with twist endings, some "honorable mention" films include The Village, The Butterfly Effect, The Forgotten, and The Number 23.
Movie fans usually enjoy films of all genres, as long as they are well-written and well-acted, but every once in a while, almost all movie lovers like a good movie with an excellent twist ending. Fortunately, screenwriters don't stop trying to surprise their fans.
Related articles for movie lovers:
- Best Movies at Christmas Not About Christmas
- Five of the Best Christmas Movies Ever Made
- Unusual Halloween Movies: Watch Something Different!
Cynthia Jones-Shoeman - Cynthia (“Cindy”) Jones-Shoeman earned her MA in English from Colorado State University in 2007; her thesis was "Toni ...
