Complex Movies

Too Complex? (Click for original link.)

A question Hollywood has been asking for a while. Is a complex plot and a multitude of ways to interpret a story satisfying or confusing? I guess it depends on what you like!

Many times, I have heard people say of a film I found engaging and rich, that it was “crap” or “boring”. I have always taken that to mean that the mood you were in when you watched it meant you were lost by it, and couldn’t be bothered.

If something is well made, it shouldn’t deliberately confuse, that is a truism. But art doesn’t always paint you an easy picture. And folk don’t always want something dense and difficult as entertainment. Disposable fare has its place. Sometimes we want to go in and get out feeling lifted and amused; the mainstream storytellers know this and deliver plenty that fulfils that criteria.

Every now and again, though, it’s great to see something that makes you go “wow” I have no idea what that was and why?! My belief is that lasting cinema (and other ways to tell a story) lasts because it has a quality that can be debated. Mystery is good. Not spelling things out is good. Allowing the story to be open to interpretation and argument is good.

I love all the films on this list because at the very minimum they are well made, with good intentions. Yes, Cloud Atlas is problematic. Yes, Mulholland Drive is weird. But the effort to create is evident. And I enjoy being part of the conversation. My interpretation, or yours, makes it ours! Something flawed, but worth thinking about, is always better than something shallow and base… in my opinion…