“It Took Me More Watches Than Any Other Movie To Understand It”: 19 People Are Recalling The Film That Made Them Feel Beyond Confused On The First Watch
“It Took Me More Watches Than Any Other Movie To Understand It”: 19 People Are Recalling The Film That Made Them Feel Beyond Confused On The First Watch
“It took us about 10 minutes of talking afterward for us to admit we were both out to sea.”
Have you ever watched a movie for the first time and couldn’t understand the premise for the life of you? Well, when Reddit user u/IDontLikePayingTaxes asked: “What movie did you not understand well enough until the second time around?” a lot of people were vocal on the matter. Here’s what they had to say below:
1. “The Big Lebowski. I had assumed because of how much people talk about it that the story would be bursting with over-the-top comedy, and it left me pretty confused. It wasn’t until subsequent viewings that I realized how subtly infused every single line in the movie is. Now, when I watch it, I find myself quoting nearly the entire movie. Lol.”
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“This is a good one. There are some over-the-top scenes, but there are plenty of subtle bits that you appreciate more with additional watches. Like the ‘This aggression will not stand’ quote. The first time around, I missed that he stole the line from Bush.
Not exactly subtle but I fucking love it when The Dude sees Jackie Treehorn scribbling something on a piece of paper and thinks he’s found a clue. For a second you think The Dude is onto something, only to find that it’s just a doodle of a guy with a big dick. But what really gets me is a couple of scenes later when he’s picked up by the cops. They empty The Dude’s pockets only to find a supermarket loyalty card and the doodle of the guy with the big dick.”
2. “The Prestige gets better with every re-watch.”
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“Which in itself is incredible. Usually, any movie with a massive twist that is core to it doesn’t really do well on repeat viewings. You know the twist, so the buildup is meaningless. This movie is structured so beautifully and acted so perfectly that you can’t turn away. What you pick up on repeat viewings is astounding.”
3. “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. The first viewing I was distracted marveling at the oddness and the acting. During the second viewing, I was able to properly take in the story, and I ADORE the movie.”
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“I love all the obvious stuff that’s pointing the themes out but I was too mesmerized to take it all in the first time.
The Grandfather, in particular, is my favorite character in the movie. His stunned face at the end when confronted with reality is priceless.
And my favorite scene:
‘I’m gonna get you’ as a rock…
It’s an incredible film.”
4. “Donny Darko. Upon a second watch, I finally understood the premise of the movie. It’s still a classic.”
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“This more than any other example I can think of showed me the power of editing in making a story work and why it must be a really hard part of filmmaking. The original is so weird and because I, as the viewer, believe understanding is just around the corner, I stay with it. The director’s cut has too much exposition but resolves more conventionally satisfyingly because I actually sort of know what’s going on.
If the director’s cut was considered the ‘real’ one, I don’t think film geeks would love the Donnie Darko so much.”
6. “Fight Club. It took me more watches than any other movie to understand it. It might be one of the most misunderstood movies, especially online. It’s definitely worth a re-watch if you don’t understand the purpose of the commentary and what each character represents to the protagonist.”
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“I also think Fight Club is a movie like Shutter Island, where ‘knowing what you know’ makes the second watch that much better.”
7. “Us. The first time I watched it in theaters, I found it hard to follow. I watched it again recently, and I think the big key to me getting it was subtitles. I couldn’t understand what Red was saying and missed lots of little things that made the plot better and more intense. Great movie.”
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8. “I was ten when I first saw Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it was definitely not the right age for me to get what was going on. Years later, on a second viewing, I fell in love with it.”
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“I was also a kid (very into space and sci-fi), and I clearly remember being very enthralled by the idea of understanding what was going on, and less so by what was actually going on. I grasped the broad strokes, but I could tell so much of the detail was lost on me, and I was so excited to eventually understand it. Really rewarding to watch it again (and again) as I got older and understood it more and more.”
10. “My first thought was Training Day, but it took more than two viewings. I couldn’t even pay attention enough to know that Alonzo was doing all that to pay a debt to Russian gangsters. But Denzel was so electric in it, I watched it for him. Now, I think of it as an allegory for where you, the audience member, would decide to give up your future in the face of all the things he puts Ethan Hawke through. And also, how easily bad people can use the system against young people with aspirations.”
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11. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. To be honest, I’m still not sure if I understand it all.”
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“I first saw it on a date with a woman who went to Harvard. I didn’t want her to think I was stupid, so I pretended that I wasn’t so confused. Turns out, she was afraid I would think she was stupid, too. It took us about 10 minutes of talking afterward for us to admit we were both out to sea.
But that started an obsession. I’ve probably seen it 10 times now. There are a lot of masterful craft choices that make it such a tonally satisfying movie. That said, there are still some really, really strange choices.
Case in point: there’s an elevator scene where Benedict Cumberbatch mentions to Ciaran Hinds that his hand is bleeding. Then they go to lunch together. In the book, the whole reason his hand was bleeding was he broke into someone’s desk! No mention of that in the movie, and it never comes up again. Bizarre.”
15. “Looper.”
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“I love that film. It feels like it’s one space between our own world and Blade Runner, just sitting square in the center.
I love the world, I love the characters, I love the story, and Kid Blue is hilarious, Time Mutilation is a new fear, and it’s just so damn interesting. I really felt the world they were giving us.”
16. “Arrival totally baffled me the first time I saw it and proceeded to blow my mind the second time when I caught onto the timeline sequencing. Fantastic movie!”
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18. “Interstellar. The multidimensional part was getting too complex to follow the first time around. The second time I was able to process it.”
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Is there a movie you had to watch twice to understand the premise? If so, tell us what it is and why in the comments below.
