“Pretentious” is a label put on things that try too hard to be profound. They take themselves far too seriously, often attemptingto be avant-garde or metaphorical, but wind up feeling contrived and confusing. Rather than simply telling a good story, these movies strive to be smart and impressive — but fail.
Redditors have gotten together several times onr/movies, the largest film subreddit, to discuss the most pretentious movies of all time, and these are some of the titles that came up again and again. They range from overblown experimental films to self-serious superhero movies.
10’Crash' (2004)
This Best Picture-winning drama follows an ensemble cast across several interconnected storylines, all of them dealing with race relations. While some of the performances (especiallyMatt Dillon’s) were praised,Crashreceived flak for its overwrought and heavy-handed treatment of its themes. It has since been ranked by some critics asone of the worst Oscar winners of all time.
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“I hated this movie. Made me cringe so hard. It is such vain, shallow Oscar bait,” saidRedditor IrrelevantPuppy. “[Crash] thinks very little of the critical thinking abilities of its audience. So it has to be hammy and obvious,” saiduser cleofisrandolph1.
9’The Killing of a Sacred Deer' (2017)
Yorgos Lanthimosis a master of offbeat cinema, butThe Killing of a Sacred Deerwas something of a misstep. It’s a psychological thriller starringColin Farrellas a surgeon who takes a mysterious teenager (Barry Keoghan) into his home. The whole project is highly metaphorical and surreal, packed with highbrow allusions to Greek tragedy. However, its elements never quite cohere.
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“Dogtooth,The Lobster, andThe Favoriteare all masterpieces. ButKilling of a Sacred Deeris torture to get through,” saiduser girafa. “I love strange films butKilling of a Sacred Deerreeked of effort,” agreedRedditor ForgetfulLucy28. “Like being strange for the sake of being strange. Trying to be art. Laughable.”
8’Lady in the Water' (2006)
For every gem inM. Night Shyamalan’s filmography, there’s a stinker (or two). However,Lady in the Wateris the only one of his movies that could really be described as pretentious. It revolves around Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), an apartment complex superintendent who discovers a mythical water nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) in his pool. Particularly cringey is Shyamalan’s casting of himself in a supporting role as a visionary writer.
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“Lady in the Wateris definitely pretentious garbage,” saiduser hahahoudini. “You picked up on the allegory 15 minutes in, and you pray to God that isn’t what this whole story is going to be about. Then you realize thatiswhat the film is about…” saidRedditor SteveMcQueenIsHere.
7’Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicehad huge potential, representing the first live-action meeting of DC’s most iconic heroes. While not awful, it was certainly a disappointment. Part of the problem was that the film takes itself far too seriously. In contrast to the lighthearted Marvel movies of the time, or evenChristopher Nolan’s darkly self-awareBatmanmovies,Batman v Supermanstrives so hard to be profound that it ends up being dour and humorless.
“Everybody involved talked about how deep and thought-provoking it was and how it was a superhero movie that wasaboutsomething. Then it came out and it was the most pretentious pile of sh*t I’d seen in years,” oneusersaid. “It’s fine to use superheroes to analyze man’s relationship with God, but having characters just say the themes out loud is so lazy.”
6’Mother!' (2017)
Mother!is one ofDarren Aronofsky’s most polarizing movies. Depending on your point of view, it’s either a masterful allegory or an exercise in navel-gazing. It centers on a nameless couple, played byJennifer LawrenceandJavier Bardem, who live in a secluded countryside home. Their tranquil existence is disrupted when unexpected guests arrive, gradually unsettling the delicate balance of their relationship. However, the film ditches a traditional narrative for symbolism and religious references.
“I feel like it was a very simple metaphor that was somehow dragged out into a two-hour film and which tried really, really hard to make itself more mysterious and intellectual than it really was,” saiduser BeefPieSoup.
5’Beyond the Black Rainbow' (2010)
Beyond the Black Rainbowis the feature debut byMandydirectorPanos Cosmatos. It’s a sci-fi horror about a young woman with psychic abilities named Elena (Eva Allan) who is held captive within a facility called the Arboria Institute. It’s a trippy film and boasts some impressive, mesmerizing visuals, but some Redditors found the whole thing to be over-the-top.
“So much of it felt like the director saying ‘Look at me, look at what I can do’,” saiduser A_Dog_Chasing_Cars. “It’s relentlessly slow pace. [The] repetitive fades to red and still shots didn’t really help the movie at all, in my opinion. To me, it was a so-and-so story told in a very pretentious way.”
4’Don’t Look Up' (2021)
Adam McKay’sDon’t Look Upfeatures Jennifer Lawrence andLeonardo DiCaprioas astronomers who discover a comet hurtling towards Earth with the potential to cause cataclysmic destruction. Despite their urgent efforts to alert the world and rally governments to take action, they face skepticism, indifference, and the overwhelming influence of media and political agendas.
Like McKay’s terrific filmsThe Big ShortandVice,Don’t Look Upisa pointed political commentary, but it never rises to the heights of those projects. “Completely unfunny, not even ironic and the implied theme is far from disguised,” saiduser GroupE78. “[It] made a timely comment on the stupidity of politics in America but it fell flat as condescending whining. Zero entertainment value.”
3’Only God Forgives' (2013)
Nicolas Winding Refn’s follow-up toDrivestarsRyan Goslingas Julian, an American running a boxing club in Thailand as a front for his family’s drug smuggling operations. When his brother is brutally murdered, Julian’s mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), demands retribution, so he sets out on a quest for vengeance.
Only God Forgivesis just as slick and stylized asDrive, andGosling’s performance is just as committed, but the script is not as polished and the themes are a little too overt. “I generally really like Refn’s work and I’m aware of what he’s like but I walked out of the cinema so damn irritated with that one. All empty navel-gazing,” saiduser FreezeSPreston.
2’The Circle' (2017)
The Circleis a techno-thriller about the 21st-century dangers of surveillance and manipulation. Mae Holland (Emma Watson) is a young woman who lands a job at The Circle, a powerful tech company, but soon finds herself at odds with executives' invasive methods and moral ambiguity.
The film strives to make a thoughtful comment on the role of technology and social media in our lives but never achieves the depth it aspires to. You’ll find more interesting commentary on the same themes in an episode of Silicon Valley. “[The Circleis] tough to get through,” saiduser TheJD. “It’s trying so hard to make statements on various modern controversies and it just hits you over the head with them so relentlessly that it makes the plot implausible.”
1’Nocturnal Animals' (2016)
Nocturnal Animalsis a thriller directed by fashion designerTom Ford, about art gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), who receives a mysterious manuscript from her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). It’s certainly visually striking, with great framing and memorable imagery, but one Redditor thought the story was too self-important for its own good.
“There’s a lot of heavy-handed metaphorical sh*t going on and the cinematography, while elegant, was way too stylized for the subject matter,” saiduser Duke_Crowbait. The stylization almost seemed like Tom Ford was detached from what story was being told," agreedRedditor sweetiefish. “It felt so artificial. The scene where there is a new art installation of a canvas with ‘REVENGE’ written on it — so deep.”
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