Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune 3
Movies Upcoming movies: The most exciting new movies coming in 2026 and beyond
Dune
Movies Movie release dates 2026: Every major film coming to cinemas and streaming
One Piece
Netflix The 25 best shows on Netflix to watch in 2026
Cillian Murphy as Tommy in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch right now
Walton Goggins as the Ghoul in Fallout season 2
TV The 25 best shows on Amazon Prime Video to watch right now
The Lion King is undoubtedly one of the best movies on Disney Plus
Movies The 30 best movies on Disney Plus to watch right now
Adam Scott as Ohm in Hokum
Horror Movies 5 horror movies made by comedy stars to watch after Adam Scott's new scary flick Hokum
Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis in Widow's Bay.
Apple TV Plus From Slow Horses to Widow's Bay, these are the best Apple TV shows to watch right now
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as John Creasy, standing in front of a big explosion, in Episode 1 of Man on Fire.
Streaming Services The 6 best new shows and movies streaming this week on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, and more (April 27–May 3)
Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights
Movies 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
Charlize Theron swims in new Netflix movie Apex
Streaming Services 6 new movies and shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more (April 24-April 26)
Next James Bond
Action Movies Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
(L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo 'Matty' Nix in The Rip.
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3
Amazon Prime Video The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
Eleven in Stranger Things: Tales From '85
Animated Shows Stranger Things: Tales From '85 ending explained – Does Nikki die? Where did the monsters come from?
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Unreliable Movie Narrators

Features
By Joshua Winning published 4 June 2013

Spoilers and big, fat fibbers follow...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Subscribe to our newsletter

The Opposite Of Sex (1998)

The Unreliable Narrator: Dede (Christina Ricci), a malicious and manipulative teenager who'll do or say anything to get her way.

That character trait extends right into her acerbic narration, in which we're never entirely sure if she's making everything up.

Biggest Whopper:
“And that's how I died.”

Dede (briefly) leads us to believe she's karked it at the film's close.

Mad Detective (2007)

The Unreliable Narrator: Inspector Bun (Lau Ching-Wan), a loose canon whose crazy behaviour suggests he's got something of a slack grip on reality.

Biggest Whopper: Bun says that he's so good at his job because he can perceive peoples' true inner personalities. But can he really?

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

The Unreliable Narrator: Steven (Jim Carrey) wants to tell his story, but he's not going to get bogged down with little things like facts, frequently glossing over the less savoury elements of his tale in order to save his hide.

Biggest Whopper: Apparently those numerous jail breaks were for real, but Steven's fake death (by AIDS) was one huge (and mean) whopper.

Article continues below
You may like
  • Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man. The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
  • Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
  • Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break. The best movies on Hulu to watch right now

Lolita (1997)

The Unreliable Narrator: Though Kubrick's film is arguably the more famous, Adrian Lyn's version involves more of Humbert Humbert's (Jeremy Irons) narration, which has us constantly questioning the guy's trustworthiness.

Biggest Whopper: Is Lolita really an innocent young pre-teen? Or does she have more sinister motivations?

We know what Humbert thinks...

The Informant! (2009)

The Unreliable Narrator: Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) has massive glasses and a silly moustache, which hints at the reservoir of weird rippling beneath that goofy appearance.

Biggest Whopper: Seriously, what doesn't this guy lie about?

Accusing Agent Shepard (Scott Bakula) of assault is particularly mean, though, considering the guy's never been anything but supportive of Whitacre.

Goodfellas (1990)

The Unreliable Narrator: Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). No, seriously. This guy's involved in mob business, but he never gets his hands dirty? We suspect foul play, there.

Biggest Whopper:
Though Hill likes to pin all the really dirty stuff on Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and Tommy (Joe Pesci), when it comes to the Lufthansa job (which he apparently had nothing to do with), he still ends up with a cut.

We smell something fishy...

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

The Unreliable Narrator: Elvis himself, as played by B-horror cult figure Bruce Campbell.

He's now living in a retirement home, and regales us with stories of his glittering youth.

Biggest Whopper: Is this guy really The King? Or is he just a delusional impersonator who doesn't know better?

We'll never know...

Blade Runner (1982)

The Unreliable Narrator: Deckard (Harrison Ford) is hunting Replicants, synthetic humans who have landed on a future Earth.

Biggest Whopper: It's all a matter of opinion. Is Deckard a Replicant? Or is he as human as you and us?

Let the debate rage on...

Switchblade Romance (2003)

The Unreliable Narrator: We watch this story through the eyes of Marie (Cécile de France), who goes to stay with Alex (Maïwenn) and her family in a remote French house.

Which is when a serial killer turns up.

Biggest Whopper: In the film's shocking final twist, Marie is revealed as the serial killer – she merely created a separate persona in her mind to carry out her killings.

Life Of Pi (2012)

The Unreliable Narrator: Pi (Irrfan Khan) tells a story to reporter Yann (Rafe Spall).

When he was a boy, he was stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger called Richard Parker after the Japanese freight ship he and his family were travelling on sank...

Biggest Whopper: Was there ever a boat with a tiger on it?

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Current page: Page 3

Prev Page Page 2 Next Page Page 4
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Read more
Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man.
Thriller Movies The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
 
 
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
 
 
Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break.
Hulu The best movies on Hulu to watch right now
 
 
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3
Amazon Prime Video The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
 
 
Cillian Murphy as Tommy in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch right now
 
 
Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights
Movies 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
 
 
Latest in Movies
Bee Wario pops a trick off Crown City Bridge in Mario Kart World
Animated Movies Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't want dirty jokes in his Mario movies, but won't rule out a future appearance from Wario
 
 
Lewis Tan as Cole Young in Mortal Kombat 2
Action Movies Mortal Kombat producer admits fans were "very vocal" about what they didn't like in the original
 
 
Baraka in Mortal Kombat 2
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 review: “Lands some killer blows, but far from a flawless victory”
 
 
Jack Black in A Minecraft Movie
Live Action Movies Jack Black marks the start of A Minecraft Movie 2 in the most Steve-tastic way
 
 
Insidious: Out of the Further
Horror Movies Insidious 6 is set to introduce "funny", Dracula-esque villain played by A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star
 
 
Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in a yellow robot during the movie Aliens.
Horror Movies James Cameron is "thinking about" converting Aliens to 3D because "the tools are so much better" now
 
 
Latest in Features
A picture of Classic Marathon showing the player walking down a corridor in first-person with a gun drawn and a terminal at the other corner
FPS Games I played Marathon and its 1994 predecessor to see how Bungie has evolved over the years
 
 
Woman wearing bandana appears up-close in front of rocky waters and shipwrecks
Survival Games Windrose balances brutal survival with cheat-style forgiveness in a way that keeps bringing me back
 
 
Billy Butcher talks to Hughie in The Boys season 5 episode 6 trailer
Superhero Shows The Boys season 5, episode 6 recap: Easter eggs, cameos, and who dies
 
 
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) at the trial of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in episode 7 of Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
Marvel TV Shows An Iron Man Easter Egg in Daredevil: Born Again calls back to the origins of the MCU
 
 
Charlie Cox, Nikki M. James, and Deborah Ann Woll as Matt Murdock, Kirsten McDuffie, and Karen Page in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again season 2 ending explained: what happens to Daredevil and Kingpin? Are the Defenders coming back?
 
 
Daredevil: Born Again
Superhero Shows Daredevil: Born Again season 3 release date speculation, cast, plot, and everything else we know
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Woman wearing bandana appears up-close in front of rocky waters and shipwrecks
    1
    Windrose balances brutal survival with cheat-style forgiveness in a way that keeps bringing me back
  2. 2
    Crimson Desert speedrun champ rolls credits over 50 hours faster than average, but is very modest
  3. 3
    Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't want dirty jokes in his Mario movies, but won't rule out a future appearance from Wario
  4. 4
    Mortal Kombat producer admits fans were "very vocal" about what they didn't like in the original
  5. 5
    reMarkable is discontinuing the tablet that put it on the map and replacing it with the Paper Pure

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...