Misinterpreted classics: 10 divisive movies that are totally misunderstood
Movies, just like any sort of art form, are entirely subjective, with one person seeing satirical hilarity in something like 2004’s Team America: World Police, while the next sees puerile idiocy. Such is what makes the world of cinema so exciting, with debates among friends, family and critics fueling engagement with the moving image, prompting research, fandom and much more.
However, where there are movies that some people love and others hate, there are others that are simply totally misunderstood by the large majority of people. Such can come as a result of visionary filmmakers making films with ideas way ahead of their time, such as David Lynch and his 1977 indie hit Eraserhead or Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, which was widely denounced at the time.
Elsewhere, there are other movies that fans often take at face value rather than finding the satire or nuance hidden beneath the surface. Just look at how people saw Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker as a revolutionary call to arms or how Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street was perceived by fans, with the study into the abhorrent nature of the contemporary American dream prompting some to believe that the protagonist was an admirable figure.
Similar themes are discussed below and ten of the most misunderstood movies of all time are analysed, including films from the likes of David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino and Alex Garland.
10 hugely misunderstood movies:
Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)
Blaming people for not understanding James Gray’s 2019 sci-fi Ad Astra seems a little unfair, with the large majority of sparkly cosmic adventures being throwaway action flicks. On the surface, this is exactly what Gray’s film seemed to be, telling the story of an astronaut who sets out on a mission across the galaxy to correct the mistakes of his father’s expedition and save Earth in the process.
Starring industry favourites Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones, Ad Astra seemed like a shoo-in for some awards, and while it was nominated for an Oscar for ‘Sound Mixing’, the film was largely forgotten. This could have well been the fact that Gray’s film was not a space romp at all but a psychological excavation of a leading character who had suffered years of generational trauma, with Pitt giving one of the most underrated performances of his career.
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
For many students across the world, David Fincher’s Fight Club, adapted from the book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, is more than just a movie; it’s a right of passage that highlights the pitfalls of contemporary capitalism. Yet, many teenage boys and young men, especially, began seeing the classic as something of an aspirational tale about a protagonist who escapes this social turmoil.
But, the reality which Palahniuk and Fincher create shouldn’t be seen as aspirational in any way, with the men of the film trying to find some sort of mental enlightenment through the carnal means of violence, believing that it takes them back to the true meaning of their existence. Fight Club isn’t a guide for how to violently rebel against society, it’s a warning with a mentally ill protagonist at the helm.
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
If any film could perfectly embody the style and personality of Quentin Tarantino, his 2009 film Inglourious Basterds may just be it. A violent tale of revenge, the movie tells the story of a group of Jewish US soldiers who plot a murderous plan to kill various Nazi leaders in 1940 Nazi-occupied France. On its surface, it slots nicely into the genre of violent WWII action flicks, joining the likes of Robert Aldrich’s Dirty Dozen and John Sturges’ Great Escape.
While it can certainly be enjoyed as being part of this genre of films, Inglorious Basterds is better seen as a satirical glorification of WWII through the eyes of cinema. Constantly asking audiences to analyse the ‘heroic’ masculine violence of the lead characters in comparison to the German soldiers, the director is challenging the genre its film is supposedly based in, questioning the visceral brutality such movies create.
The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
For many critics and movie lovers, 2012’s The Master represents the very pinnacle of Paul Thomas Anderson as an artist and as a filmmaker. A complex drama telling the story of a WWII Naval veteran who finds the guidance of a cult leader once he returns home from the conflict, Anderson’s film was hailed as being a subtle film about American author and the founder of Scientology, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard.
The film was, indeed, partly inspired by Hubbard, but to say this film is intrinsically linked to the cultural icon is a mistake. The bigger point of Anderson’s Oscar nominee regards the point that the thousands of men who returned from WWII brought with them a plethora of mental conditions, as well as a complete lack of self-identity, with the turmoil of war having ripped this entirely from them.
The Matrix Resurrections (Lana Wachowski, 2021)
When Warner Bros green-lit a fourth movie in the beloved Matrix franchise, fans were frothing at the mouth for more high-wire flipping and time-bending action sequences. What they didn’t expect was exactly what they got, with The Matrix Resurrections being a really weird meta-analysis of the film industry rather than another action flick featuring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and the rest of the gang.
But, even this meta-message went over the heads of most audiences who simply saw the film as a weird, misguided mess. Upon further inspection, while it may be entirely clear that The Matrix Resurrections might not have been exactly what audiences were expecting, it was a fascinating study on the constraining limits of contemporary franchise filmmaking, with many seeing it as a protest against such movies from Lana Wachowski.
Men (Alex Garland, 2022)
Alongside the likes of Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, Alex Garland has set himself up as one of the greatest filmmakers of contemporary cinema, constantly pushing the boundaries of the art form with ingenious concepts that often remain within the boundaries of genre. Such was certainly the case for 2022’s Men, a folk horror film on the surface, which told the story of a woman who goes on a holiday to the countryside following the tragic death of her husband.
But calling Men just a folk horror seems a little too simplistic. Deep down, it’s a film that ties together generations of patriarchal control, in which, from one generation to the next, toxic traits are passed down and copied. What Garland does extraordinarily well is relate this message to the genre of folk horror, which has long explored the terror and violence innate within the mere human psyche.
Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)
It’s with good reason that people refer to Ari Aster as being one of the greatest horror directors of the 21st century, with the filmmaker having made such contemporary greats as Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid. While Hereditary might be his ‘scariest’ movie, it is Midsommar that has attracted the most love since its release, with many believing it to be an inspiring film that sees the protagonist escaping her oppressive relationship at the end of the film.
But, Aster being Aster, this is a break-up movie not about the departure of two lovers but from one troubled soul from the rationality of her own mind. As Florence Pugh’s Dani sees her boyfriend burn to a smoulder at the end of the film, she might be liberated, but she has also succumbed to the violence and moral insanity of the cult. As the director pens at the end of the script: “It is horrible and it is beautiful”.
No Country for Old Men (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2007)
Undoubtedly one of the greatest movies of the 21st century and one of the Coen brothers best ever films, No Country for Old Men is a western like no other. Set in the dusty hills of Texas, the ‘Best Picture’ winner tells the story of an old-school sheriff close to retirement who is forced to confront the violent aftermath left in the wake of an evil psychopath after a drug deal goes disastrously wrong.
An excellent thriller and ingeniously conceptualised drama, the best part about No Country for Old Men is how it fits in with the rest of Western cinema. A neo-western, the Coen brothers film is all about the generational transformation that has occurred from the days of the mythical Wild West to the nihilistic violence of the modern world, where bandits operate by entirely new moral codes.
Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997)
For many years, many people would have considered the 1997 Paul Verhoeven movie Starship Troopers to be the most misunderstood film of all time, but in the decades since its release, it has gained cult popularity thanks to its biting satire. Sure, the film can be seen as a fun, violent cosmic romp about a militaristic future in which Earth has waged war on giant extraterrestrial bugs, but it’s a much better film when you see it as a comedy.
It is, indeed, baffling that some people considered its fascist themes to be sincere, with some critics even going so far as to call the crew behind the film “Nazis”. Yet, this was the case back in the late 1990s, with some still believing it to be the case, despite Starship Troopers having since been interpreted as a satire about American militarisation and the glorification of violence in the media.
Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)
In the years since the release of Whiplash in 2014, American filmmaker Damien Chazelle has gone on to achieve considerable success, helming La La Land in 2016 and First Man in 2018. Still, it’s debatable whether he’s yet to make a film that betters 2014’s drama, which told the story of a young musician who enrols in a brutal music conservatory where he discovers the real price of artistic success.
An excellent drama and character study, by the end of Chazelle’s film, the protagonist, Andrew, is a broken musician who has been entirely bent to the will of his teacher, with little self-expression left at all. He achieves his dream of playing on stage and earns the respect of his teacher, but this is no success story where hard work is championed, it’s a savage analysis of how to make it to the very top, sometimes it takes a complete sacrifice of emotion, morals and personality.
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