9. Chester Confesses Everything - The Two Faces Of January
In true Hitchcockian style, The Two Faces Of January - which stars Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst as a husband and wife vacationing in Athens - is a movie built entirely around deception and twists. Based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, who also dealt in similar territories in her Ripley series, the movie was also one of 2014's more underrated efforts; solid acting, a tense and unpredictable script, and - best of all - an unexpected finale, make it worthwhile. The plot, maze-like in its construction, hones in on Chester (Mortensen), who finds himself at odds with a mysterious tour guide, Rydal, played by Oscar Issac. This sets the stage for a relentless game of cat and mouse, as Chester's shady past soon begins to catch up to him. During a tense finale, a foot-chase through the streets of Istanbul, Chester is shot. At this point, we've all been conditioned to believe that he will implicate Rydal in a series of crimes. Instead, he plainly admits his deceit, and falls dead. Shocker.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
