The five best movies where everything goes wrong
Sometimes, the most stressful films to watch are the ones that closely replicate our everyday worries and anxieties, revolving around simplistic narratives that tune into common causes of stress. This can lead to films that resemble a particular kind of bad dream in which everything that could possibly go wrong, goes wrong.
Whether it be a tumultuous morning in which your routine is constantly disrupted by tiny inconveniences or a day at the office interrupted by a wave of errors that slowly ruin your entire career, many of us have had nightmares in which we cannot escape from the anxieties that plague our waking lives.
Many filmmakers have tried to replicate this feeling on screen, capturing the lives of unfortunate characters who are met with a comical number of misfortunes that seem entirely outside of their control, unable to do anything to prevent this barrage of failure that flows into their lives.
Whether taking place over one day or week, here are five films in which everything goes wrong.
Five movies where everything goes wrong
Burn After Reading (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2008)
There’s nobody who does a comedy of errors quite like the Coen brothers, with the directors knowing the perfect way to revel in the misery of their characters in the most laughable and light-hearted way; whether it be Barton Fink or A Serious Man, the creative duo have found the perfect formula for both mocking and garnering sympathy for the tragically extreme plights at the heart of their stories, but perhaps the most chaotic example of this is their 2008 film Burn After Reading.
The film is a constant escalation of misjudgments and miscommunications, culminating in a comically exaggerated catastrophe that bears no resemblance to the characters’ original intentions. When two gym employees discover a disc containing information on former CIA members, they attempt to ransom it for money—only to trigger a chain of disastrous consequences. As everything that could possibly go wrong does, they end up in a far worse situation than when they started. While tragic, their suffering is an absolute riot from start to finish, with the Coen brothers once again capturing the bewildered confusion of characters blindsided by their own misfortune.
Good Time (Josh and Benny Safdie, 2017)
In another production from one of Hollywood’s most infamous family filmmaking duos, Josh and Benny Safdie nailed the constant anxiety of consistent fuck ups and existential stress in Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson as a failed criminal who attempts to get his younger brother out of jail after being his accomplice during a botched bank robbery.
The Safdie brothers are incredible at creating intense claustrophobia and suffocating levels of stress, often creating fast-paced films about people who are experiencing one of the worst days of their lives. Through an intentionally disorienting tone and snappy editing style, the directors create a trance-like nightmare as they immerse you in a 90-minute-long panic attack, watching in bewilderment as Connie tries to escape constant threats that put the only person he cares about at risk.
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
There is nothing more entertaining than watching two unsuspecting people forced together through a shared conundrum despite hating each other and having nothing in common. Bringing Up Baby is a classic enemies-to-lovers tale as well as a charming story about a woman who terrorises a man by dragging him into a ridiculous mess involving a leopard.
Starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, it is impossible not to be entertained by their witty interactions and endeared by their eventual romance, watching the two of them navigate the complications that come with trying to tame a wild animal, with Susan remaining indifferent to the stress as David slowly loses his mind over her nonchalant approach. It is a rare display of old Hollywood magic that never fails to lift my spirit, and the bizarre stream of mishaps makes for a thrilling and surprisingly romantic journey.
Blindspotting (Carlos Lopez Estrada, 2018)
Blindspotting is an innovative and timely take on the ‘everything goes wrong’ narrative, following a character whose anxiety stems from the constant fear of being falsely accused due to racial discrimination and police bias. The film follows a man named Colin during his final three days of probation, with the warning that if he is suspected of anything suspicious during this time, he will be sent back to jail.
It is full of tension and suspense at every possible juncture, with the audience constantly being presented with situations in which we know the police could easily paint him as being guilty of crimes he hasn’t committed as a result of their own prejudice. Every street corner hides an implied danger that threatens his freedom, with Colin living on the edge for fear of doing something that could be misconstrued as suspicious, no matter how small or inconspicuous. While not much goes wrong, Blindspotting highlights the constant anxiety of knowing that your freedom could be stripped of you at any moment and that some people will always suspect you of doing the wrong thing.
Zola (Janicza Bravo, 2022)
Sometimes, the most stressful kinds of nightmares are the ones where you are desperately trying to get home but are somehow faced with obstacles that make this simple journey almost impossible to complete. This is the case with Zola, a story about two exotic dancers who go on a road trip, only for one to become accidentally sold into an illegal sex trafficking ring and desperately trying to escape home for the rest of the film. While it sounds dark, it is a surprisingly upbeat and zany film that paints the plight of the main character like a satirical fairytale.
It is absurd and outrageous, and while it deals with some complex subject matter in a slightly reductive way, it instead focuses on the humour of the situation and finds nuance through the empathy extended to the main character, never laughing at her struggles and joining in on the ridiculous extremes that the road trip escalates into. It is immaculately directed by Bravo and remains a modern and well-executed comedy of errors.
