Some spoilers.
Wikipedia says:
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. Unreliable narrators are usually first-person narrators, but third-person narrators can also be unreliable.
Vacillating Voiceovers: A History of Unreliable Narrators
Quote:
"Rashomon" (1950)
The granddaddy of unreliable narrator films, Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" provides four conflicting accounts of a fateful event in order to highlight a fundamental inability to ascertain definitive truth.
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Fight Club, also included in the list, is a fine example. Edward Norton's narrator is incredibly effective for various reasons, the main one being that he can't tell how unreliable he is for a long while. Another example of unreliable narrators in movies is Verbal from
The Usual Suspects.
Memento's Leonard Shelby is another great example of a self-deceptive narrator. The first time I watched Memento the reveal hit me hard. So well done.
He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not caught me by surprise. This story was so well crafted I couldn't believe I didn't suspect anything until the aha moment toward the end.
Identity and
Matchstick Men play very astute long cons, but one of them is kind of a cheat.
In my opinion, Wadsworth the Butler (
Clue, 1985) is one of the funniest UN's ever. He's unreliable and the only one who knows what's going on.
