Entertainment
10 Mystery Movies That Are Perfect From the First Scene to the Last
People love a good mystery movie. They are inherently compelling and intriguing, and a skilled screenwriter or discerning director knows just when and what breadcrumbs to feed us so that we keep following them down the path to the truth. Whether that truth is satisfying or not comes down to the individual story we’ve been told and whether the facts of it add up to something greater. Often, films or series can whet our appetites with clever clues and plot machinations, only to turn our stomachs sour with an unsatisfying ending that leaves too many plot threads dangling or ties them up in too tidy a bow.
Crafting a compelling and narratively satisfying mystery can be like pulling off a magic trick, and if a filmmaker tips their hand too soon, it can ruin the whole show. While we all patiently wait to see if the second season of Widow’s Bay still has some tricks up its sleeves, it’s the perfect time to revisit those mystery movies that have both interesting setups and satisfying payoffs. They give you a puzzle, they solve it in front of you, and the result is a wonderful sight to behold. These are ten mystery movies that are perfect from the first scene to the last.
‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1939)
It’s hard to create any list of mystery movies without including the character of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s iconic detective has been adapted across a variety of mediums with varying degrees of success over the years. In film, the actor probably most associated with the character, at least for those whose viewing habits extend beyond a couple of decades, is Basil Rathbone, who appeared in fourteen separate films as Holmes, alongside Nigel Bruce as Watson. The first one, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is still the best, a gothic film thick with atmosphere and a classic mystery.
Though the film makes several notable changes to Doyle’s original, it still captures the spirit of the story, from its horror-tinged aesthetic to the Victorian-era setting. It follows Holmes and Watson as they investigate a supposed curse that’s been placed upon the Baskerville family and a demonic dog that haunts the moors surrounding their Devonshire estate. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the most famous Holmes mystery, and it’s been adapted, in one form or another, more than any other. but the Rathbone film set the cinematic standard for the character.
‘The Maltese Falcon’ (1941)
Doyle’s legacy was succeeded by authors like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, whose hard-boiled detective novels became noir classics. Those two, along with authors like Mickey Spillane and James M. Cain, provided almost all the subgenre’s golden age. The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, and Kiss Me Deadly all offer scintillating mysteries in perfect movies, but The Maltese Falcon came first and was the crystallization of the noir template. It’s got a hard-boiled detective, a femme fatale, a MacGuffin to kill for, and one hell of a mystery.
Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade, a private eye who gets more than he bargained for when his partner is killed, and he’s pulled into a conspiracy involving the titular statue and the underworld figures who covet it. Directed by John Huston, the film was actually the second adaptation of the Dashiell Hammett novel on which it was based, but has completely eclipsed it. It’s a seminal film noir and, in addition to Bogart giving a bona fide movie star performance, it features a killer supporting cast which includes Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. It’s a dark labyrinth you’ll love to get lost in.
‘Rear Window’ (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock‘s career has plenty of mysteries, at least when it comes to the film. Vertigo is a masterpiece, North by Northwest is an immaculate spy thriller, and Rear Window is a masterclass in sustained suspense. Set entirely in a single location, the film never feels stagnant or restricted thanks to incredible set design and tight pacing.
Photojournalist Jeff (James Stewart) is confined to his apartment in a wheelchair with a broken leg, passing the time by watching his neighbors across the courtyard from him. Jeff’s peeping gets him more than he expects when he believes one neighbor has murdered his wife. It’s a classic premise that has inspired more than a few other voyeuristic thrillers, but Rear Window remains unsurpassed. It’s a contained mystery thriller that keeps you in the thick of it from its very first frame.
‘A Shot in the Dark’ (1964)
Peter Sellers‘ most iconic character of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau was introduced in Blake Edward‘s The Pink Panther. That film holds its own special place in film history, but many forget that Sellers’ character was but one member of a larger ensemble in it. In its superior sequel, A Shot in the Dark, the spotlight is all on Sellers, and he absolutely shines. The broad characteristics of Clouseau, such as his exaggerated French accent and pratfalls, become even more pronounced, and the film is a slapstick classic.
When a murder occurs at the estate of a millionaire, Clouseau is called upon to take the case, and he quickly becomes embroiled with certain members of the household while ignorantly dodging attempts on his life. From the moment Sellers is on screen, he’s making you laugh; even when he isn’t, there is plenty more to admire in Edwards’ direction and the widescreen cinematography. Rather than feeling disjointed, the result is a perfectly balanced comedy mystery that will keep you entertained from beginning to end.
‘The Conversation’ (1974)
Though it was slightly overshadowed by director Francis Ford Coppola‘s other film released in 1974, The Conversation is every bit a masterpiece. Where The Godfather Part II is sprawling and epic, The Conversation is intimate and claustrophobic, a mystery thriller set in the world of surveillance that, despite being written years before, was made all the more relevant for its proximity to the Watergate scandal. In today’s political circus where constant surveillance is part of modern life, the mystery is still captivating with its slow-burn suspense.
Gene Hackman plays Harry Caul, a cautious and paranoid surveillance expert whose current job has him overhearing a potential threat of murder, putting him in the middle of a mystery involving an affair and a powerful executive. Inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni‘s Blow-Up, Coppola advanced that film’s themes of perception and reality through images by applying them through sound recording. There’s something particularly paranoid about The Conversation that makes it still feel applicable. The final scene is a cynical summation of our futile attempts to maintain control.
‘Missing’ (1982)
The ’80s were a prime time for thrillers, many of them built around solid mysteries. While the decade is better known for its sweaty, sexy thrillers like Body Heat and neo noirs like Blood Simple, there were also some less lurid films built on real events, like Costa-Gravas‘ Missing. A political thriller based on the murder of American journalist Charles Horman after the Chilean coup led by Augusto Pinochet, the film finds its emotional anchor in Horman’s father and wife. It’s incendiary and absorbing, exposing the political corruption and government complicity that played major roles in Horman’s execution.
Jack Lemmon plays Horman’s father Ed, who travels to Chile to search for his son. He meets his daughter-in-law Beth (Sissy Spacek), who holds conflicting political views to those of the conservative Ed. As Ed is repeatedly stonewalled by the U.S. government in his investigation, his politics change. The film expertly captures the frustrations of American bureaucracy and diplomacy, which more often than not ignore the human cost of political calculations. Missing is a character drama wrapped in a political thriller whose central mystery isn’t about how someone died, but why they did.
‘Lone Star’ (1996)
John Sayles‘ neo-Western mystery Lone Star is one of the best written and most underrated films of the ’90s, a keenly observed drama about the racial and cultural divides that exist in America, illustrated through a small Texas border town with a history of violence and deception. Featuring a stellar lead performance by Chris Cooper and incredible support from Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Pena and some outstanding early work by Matthew McConaughey, it’s a stark counterpart to many of the other ’90s crime films, particularly those made in the wake of Quentin Tarantino‘s success.
Sam Deeds (Cooper) is a county sheriff in South Texas leading an investigation into a discovered skeleton that is revealed to be that of the corrupt sheriff who preceded Sam’s father (McConaughey). The investigation leads Sam to learn some uncomfortable truths about his father, while the film explores the broader historical revisionism that papers over these same kinds of truths within American history. The solving of the film’s mystery is more akin to picking at a scab and uncovering the bloody truth underneath. Lone Star is another quiet classic from Sayles from one of the most exciting eras of independent filmmaking.
‘Memento’ (2001)
As the film that truly put Christopher Nolan on the map as a filmmaker, Memento often gets reduced to discussions of its non-linear narrative, but it is far more than just a gimmick. The story alternates between forward and reverse chronology to meet in the middle at the end, which puts the audience in the same position as the anterograde amnesiac protagonist. It’s a delicate balancing act that risks becoming alienating or incomprehensible, but Nolan clearly had the confidence, or hubris, to pull it off. It demands attention, and it rewards repeat viewings.
Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, an investigator who can’t form new memories following the attack that also killed his wife. He’s now committed to tracking down her murderer but must rely on polaroids and tattoos to keep track of his clues. The film’s structure was criticized by some critics and lauded by others. It’s futile to argue if the narrative, or mystery, would be just as interesting if it were told in linear fashion, since the structure is an integral part of the story. How a story is told is just as important as the events that transpire within it, and Memento is told perfectly.
‘Mother’ (2009)
Bong Joon Ho has made many films with mystery elements embedded within them, from his Academy Award-winning masterpiece Parasite to the sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer and his greatest film, Memories of Murder. Mystery is also at the heart of his wrenching neo-noir thriller Mother, a film that’s focused on the power of maternal love as an overwhelming force that can harm just as easily as it can heal. Just like Bong’s best films, Mother is a deft balance of tones that, in less assured hands, would result in narrative whiplash.
Kim Hye-ja plays the titular mother, a widow with an intellectual disabled adult son. She fiercely defends him from mockery and abuse, but when he is accused of the murder of a young woman, she pushes herself to the brink to clear his name and find the real killer. The mystery of Mother doesn’t offer simple satisfaction, and the deeper the main character digs, the dirtier she gets. Bong’s darkest films often end lingering, with the characters more haunted than before. By the end of her story, the Mother just wants to forget, but the film itself is unforgettable.
‘The Nice Guys’ (2016)
Now for something completely different. Even if there’s plenty of bloodshed and lots of bodies in The Nice Guys, it ends pretty far from the somber tone set by some of the preceding mystery films. You’d expect no less from Shane Black, the quick-witted screenwriter who came to fame with punchy action comedies like Lethal Weapon. His directorial career has seen its own highs (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and lows (The Predator), but anyone who’s made a stone-cold classic like The Nice Guys should get to do whatever they want. It’s easily one of the most entertaining mysteries to unravel.
Par for the course for Black, the film follows private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), who reluctantly join forces to find a missing teenage girl. Set in Los Angeles in the ’70s, the film is steeped in the political turmoil of the era, but it’s far from some high-minded thriller, yet well above the level of a standard potboiler. Black has a killer sense of humor, and it’s in every perfect little scene of this cult classic. Gosling and Crowe have explosive chemistry, and neither has ever been funnier than they are here. It genuinely doesn’t matter if you find the mystery of The Nice Guys fascinating or not, because you’ll be laughing too hard to care.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login