It’s very possible to miss the main point of a movie in favor of what people think are the best parts. Let’s be real here, action tends to get the attention of many audience members far more than exposition most of the time since our eyes and senses are drawn to quick and dramatic movements that break up the monotony and force us to catch up or be left behind. Unfortunately what happens in some movies is that the action tends to override the main point of the movie and can very easily make a person forget what the movie was supposed to be about. In this light, a lot of movies tend to be misunderstood since their quieter and less obtrusive moments don’t tend to pull the audience in as much and when it comes to home video they’re usually ignored or skipped over in favor of getting to the ‘good stuff’. Admit it, a few of us have done this when younger or when we just don’t want to hear as much talking and are way more interested in shoot-outs, chases, fights, and other scenes that are a little more worthy of our attention. The downside of this of course is that we lose sight of what the movie is really about and in doing so forget that it’s not all about the exciting parts.
Here are a few movies that were more than a little misunderstood.
5. No Country for Old Men
In a big way, Anton Chigurh becomes a symbol for evil, or the devil himself, and as a rule, this killer only dispenses death to those that have done something that is considered to be worthy of such a punishment, which includes those that help him since even people who unwittingly help the devil are apparently committing a sin. But throughout the movie, it’s made pretty clear that Anton doesn’t kill just anyone and he does play by a few rules, even if those rules are his own. By the end of the movie though it’s pretty easy to see, if you’re paying attention, that Anton might be evil, but he still has a set of principles to him.
4. Jurassic Park
This is a case where the flash and pomp of a movie can override and even conceal the main point. During the scene at the dinner table, before the madness starts, the group is speaking of the park and how to open it and then, predictably, just why it is or isn’t a good idea. Notably, the scientists are the ones that speak up and claim that there’s no precedent for humans and dinosaurs sharing the earth together and that only bad things are bound to happen. Obviously this doesn’t sit well with Hammond, and he’s even more determined to convince them to endorse his park since he’s firmly convinced that this wonder of the world is completely contained. But as Ian Malcolm stated, “Life finds a way.”.
3. Memento
This is for the most part about a man that’s trying to find something that he’s never going to find since each time he finds it he forgets it. As a result, he’s trying to find purpose in his life that has already been met more than once, but since he can’t make the memories so that it will last he’s stuck in this continual state of having to recall just what happened to him only a short time ago. In effect, he becomes a serial killer with the help of a detective that believed he deserved justice, and then kept allowing him to find it over and over in an effort to kickstart his memories and perhaps cure him. It’s pretty simple really, Leonard was trying to find his purpose, but he’d already done it several times.
2. Requiem for a Dream
Isolation is one of the biggest points in this movie since each character deals with their own isolation in their own way. Harry is tired of trying to be the dutiful son, which he really isn’t since he steals her TV fairly often, while Sara is the needy mother that won’t denounce her son since she feels that she needs someone in her life. Marion does what she needs to do in order to get her next score, while Tyrone wants so badly to make a life of his own that his mother would be proud of that he somehow trips on his way to said life and allows drugs to take over, which lands him in jail and subsequently ruins the life he wanted.
1. Song of the South
People still harp on and on about this movie being as racist as it possibly can be, and Disneyland has even decided to change Splash Mountain, which was based around characters from this movie, into the Princess and the Frog after so many people spoke out about it. This is one of the main reasons why PC and ‘woke’ culture is rather annoying and kind of dangerous since it’s taking something that was meant to be a positive experience and turning it on its ear to tell people that it’s all about racism.
Sometimes understanding a movie can lead to more enjoyment of it.
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