Movies Set Inside A Character's Head
by matsnowie | created - 06 Mar 2011 | updated - 18 Oct 2018 | PublicSometimes imagination and reality cross paths, and in these films imagination has (possibly) taken over.
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1. Inception (2010)
PG-13 | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe
Votes: 2,550,277 | Gross: $292.58M
As far as setting a film inside a character's head goes, Inception is the most overt. Criminals working in other people's dreams, the line between reality and imagination is crossed half-way through when the main heist starts. In terms of reality: the heart-pounding second half occurs entirely within the first class cabin of a passenger flight.
2. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Todd Field, Sydney Pollack
Votes: 375,024 | Gross: $55.69M
Kubrick's final - and most misunderstood - masterpiece presents itself as an unusual series of events happening to Tom Cruise's doctor character. However, from the moment Cruise meets a man who dropped out of medical school, it is open for debate as to what is happening and what is the doctor imagining what his life could have been.
3. Fight Club (1999)
R | 139 min | Drama
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Votes: 2,323,286 | Gross: $37.03M
Essentially THE Generation-X film, Fight Club throws its viewer head first into the mind of the main character (Edward Norton). Voice-over narration and talking to the camera are first steps in a long run down the rabbit hole; it isn't until the film's climax that it is revealed how deep inside Norton's mind the film has gone.
4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
PG-13 | 112 min | Biography, Drama
The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
Director: Julian Schnabel | Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny
Votes: 110,422 | Gross: $5.99M
As the true story of a man who could only move one eye, the film takes the daring route of starting with his point of view. When Jean-Do becomes more accustomed to his limited life his imagination starts to run wild, and we are allowed to see inside his fantasies and memories.
5. Brazil (1985)
R | 132 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 211,196 | Gross: $9.93M
It might be difficult to pinpoint the exact moment where reality disappears and the main character's imagination takes over, but the transition is the most important part of Gilliam's Director's Cut version of the film. All other editions are footnotes.
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
In a magically realistic version of Toronto, a young man must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes one by one in order to win her heart.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick
Votes: 465,269 | Gross: $31.49M
The only good video game movie (despite not being based on a video game) this is a full-frontal assault on classic filmmaking techniques. Every rule is broken to show you the world though the eyes of Scott Pilgrim as he goes on his quest to win the heart of Ramona.
7. Shutter Island (2010)
R | 138 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
Votes: 1,456,255 | Gross: $128.01M
When Martin Scorsese announced he'd make a Dennis Lehane thriller, the phrase "match made in heaven" never fit better. Lehane's powerful story, Scorsese's sure direction, and DiCaprio's award-worthy performance combine in this psychological tour-de-force.
8. The Kid (1921)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan, Carl Miller
Votes: 134,807 | Gross: $5.45M
The film is very grounded in the dramatic comedy reality of Chaplin's films, but its third act involves an extended dream sequence where the Tramp imagines he's died and been reuinited with his adopted son in heaven. This sequence leads the film into its beautiful conclusion.
9. Being John Malkovich (1999)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich
Votes: 353,307 | Gross: $22.86M
There is really no ambiguity in Being John Malkovich; characters literally go inside his head and mess about. This twilight zone premise is really just a cover, however, for the tangled web of sex and love that developes among the lead characters.
10. Barton Fink (1991)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner
Votes: 128,944 | Gross: $6.15M
This is a prime example of the Coen brothers's expertise in storytelling. The film starts as a traditional, classic Hollywood narrative; it turns into a minimalist narrative; and, in its firey climax, it becomes an anti-plot marvel.
11. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Gerry Robert Byrne
Votes: 1,077,794 | Gross: $34.40M
Much like Inception, Eternal Sunshine doesn't hide its imaginary existence. As Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet leap through Carrey's mind to escape the machine erasing his memories, an unconventional and brilliant romance developes.
12. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,124 | Gross: $33.23M
Few film characters are as likeable as Amelie, and her unique worldview is infectious. By the end of this romantic fantasy audiences can't help but be caught up in the optimism and beauty.
13. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
TV-MA | 122 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, John Lithgow
Votes: 15,287
A showcase of Geoffrey Rush's talents as much as Peter Sellers's life, this film plays with the reality of its own set, having characters wander off the side of things while narrating to the camera.
14. Chicago (2002)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
Two death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Taye Diggs
Votes: 243,329 | Gross: $170.69M
The opening shot of Roxy's eyes reveals how imaginary the film is. Throughout, the musical numbers are balanced by the "real" scenes, and the solid impression is of an immature woman with a never-ending obsession with fame and showbusiness.
15. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor | Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr
Votes: 428,554 | Gross: $2.08M
Unlike the more standard fantasy of the novel, the classic film presents Oz as a figment of Dorothy's imagination. From her head injury in the tornado until she wakes up in her bed in Kansas, the film shows you the technicolor world of Dorothy's mind.
16. Secret Window (2004)
PG-13 | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.
Director: David Koepp | Stars: Johnny Depp, Maria Bello, John Turturro, Timothy Hutton
Votes: 209,503 | Gross: $48.02M
Johnny Depp carries the movie almost entirely. John Turturro's appearance as the angry southerner also props up the film. If I had watched any trailers ahead of seeing the film I would have predicted the ending, but it still manages to be a solid Stephen King adaptation.
17. Time Bandits (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 68,337 | Gross: $42.37M
A bizarre fantasy until the moment when the hero, Kevin, wakes up in his room after the final battle to find the set pieces of the climax are actually toys around his room. Gilliam doesn't let the audience off with a simple "it was all a dream," however, and a final wink from Sean Connery leaves the conclusion up to the audience.
18. Run Lola Run (1998)
R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri
Votes: 206,962 | Gross: $7.27M
Partly the character's imagination, but mostly the writer's, this "third try's the charm" story is pulse-pounding perfection.
19. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
I.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Votes: 236,444 | Gross: $40.14M
Perhaps inside the mind of a supporting character rather than the main character, this very unconventional romance is similar to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in its mixture of fantasy and reality.
20. Bronson (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Tom Hardy, Kelly Adams, Luing Andrews, Katy Barker
Votes: 140,859 | Gross: $0.10M
One of those films that depends entirely on the central performance, Tom Hardy is never boring in the title role, playing Britain's most violent inmate. Seeing the inner workings of a mind this unhinged can be disturbing, but the performance alone is enough to require viewing.
21. Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Yearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: Max Records, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Pepita Emmerichs
Votes: 108,507 | Gross: $77.23M
A philisophical film from the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this is not a movie for kids, but it is a movie about kids.
22. Vanilla Sky (2001)
R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell
Votes: 285,653 | Gross: $100.61M
Early on it becomes clear that reality isn't all that it appears to be in Vanilla Sky. One of Tom Cruise's better performances, and good supporting roles for the rest of the cast, make this a solid remake from director Cameron Crowe.
23. Slipstream (2007)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Aging screenwriter Felix Bonhoeffer has lived his life in two states of existence: in reality and his own interior world. While working on a murder mystery script, and unaware that his brain is on the verge of implosion, Felix is baffled when his characters start to appear in his life, and vice versa.
Director: Anthony Hopkins | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Stella Hopkins, Christian Slater, John Turturro
Votes: 4,912 | Gross: $0.01M
The film slips into the mind of a drug-addled patient, and the story reflects the disjointed nature of its main character. Hardly hitting a single standard note, this is surreal art filmmaking in the flesh.
24. Inside Out (I) (2015)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen | Stars: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling
Votes: 785,200 | Gross: $356.46M
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