'Memento' & 7 Other Mind-Bending Movies That Play With Time, Ranked by RT
These films break the usual flow of time.
In cinema, time defies the laws of nature – it can run backwards, loop, repeat, and disintegrate into fragments. Tired of linear narratives, directors have long used playing with chronology as a way to rethink the nature of reality, memory, and perception.
Films with reverse composition challenge viewers by forcing us to pay attention, compare details, and reassemble the puzzle.
8. 'Irreversible', 2002
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%
Alex, a young woman, is raped in an underground passageway. Her husband, Marcus, and a friend try to find and punish the rapist. The movie consists of thirteen episodes edited in reverse order.
Arguably the most scandalous film of the early 21st century, Gaspar Noé's Irreversible was one of the pioneering movies of the new French extreme.
At the premiere, audiences felt nauseated, largely due to the scene in the underground passage and critics debated the line between art and the exploitation of violence.
7. 'Identity', 2003
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%
The execution of a serial killer has been delayed because his diaries were not presented as evidence in the case. A psychiatrist and a lawyer are trying to prove that the maniac's writings indicate his insanity.
Meanwhile, during a heavy rainstorm, eleven strangers are trapped in a roadside motel: among them are the motel owner who ran off with a client's money, a sex worker, a married couple with a young son, a famous actress and her driver, a young couple, and a police officer escorting a dangerous criminal.
Soon, someone begins killing the guests one by one.
6. 'Five Times Two', 2004
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%
It's the story of an unhappy marriage told in reverse. The film's arithmetic title is easily explained – we see five episodes illustrating the life of a couple, Gilles and Marion, from their divorce and mutual estrangement to when they meet at a seaside resort.
It is François Ozon's scathing interpretation of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage. In both films, the characters ultimately stay together, but the French filmmaker's reversal of the narrative gives the "happy" ending a bitter aftertaste.
The characters are in love and full of hope, unaware of their fate, while the omniscient viewer understands that their relationship is doomed.
5. 'Tenet', 2020
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%
A CIA agent referred to as the Protagonist goes undercover in a hostage rescue operation at a Kyiv opera house. His main objective is to retrieve a mysterious package from a middleman.
The agent hides the package but is captured by terrorists. To keep the secret from the criminals, the agent swallows a poison capsule. However, he is brought back to life by a secret organization called Tenet, which is trying to prevent a catastrophe.
For some reason, a force in the future wants to destroy the past. The Protagonist must discover technology that allows objects to travel backward in time, like a bullet returning to the barrel of a gun.
4. 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 2008
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%
Toward the end of World War I in 1918, a very unusual boy was born to Thomas Button, a wealthy manufacturer who had lost his son on the battlefield – the baby had the face of an old man.
Button Sr. abandoned his son, and a compassionate, childless woman took the unusual child in and named him Benjamin.
Benjamin lives his life backwards – he grows younger with each passing year. By age 11, he meets Daisy, his first friend and love. Fate separates them, only to bring them back together years later.
3. 'The Life of Chuck', 2024
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
People everywhere are seeing obvious signs of the end of the world: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and other catastrophes – but there's another ubiquitous message.
A strange advertisement appears everywhere, thanking someone named Chuck Krantz for "39 great years." We soon realize that the end of the universe is connected to Chuck, a 39-year-old accountant who is dying from a brain tumor in the hospital.
His life story is told in reverse – from death to childhood.
2. '500 Days of Summer', 2009
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
Tom, an office worker, falls in love with Summer, his boss' new assistant. He is convinced that she is his soulmate.
The two begin dating and discover they have similar interests, musical tastes, and a sense of humor. However, Summer isn't looking for a serious relationship and immediately warns Tom about this.
Over time, this leads to a breakup. Tom falls into despair but doesn't give up hope of winning her back.
1. 'Memento', 2000
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Leonard Shelby, an insurance investigator, is searching for his wife's killer. However, his memory loss is holding him back – due to an injury, he has developed anterograde amnesia and inevitably forgets recent events.
To avoid missing anything important, he regularly leaves himself notes, Polaroids, and even tattoos. Police officer Teddy and a woman named Natalie assist him in his investigation, but they have their own designs on Leonard.
The movie is divided into two storylines. One, shown in monochrome, moves chronologically, the other moves in reverse order, and at the end, both storylines merge.
