Having grown up as an avid bookworm in general, and a mystery lover specifically, I’ve gravitated towards mystery movies my whole life. And before the days of “worlds of streaming options at our fingertips”, the movies I owned experienced frequent replay.
So when I’m feeling down, or just don’t have the mental energy to pit my mind against a new mystery viewing challenge, sometimes I just want to rewatch a familiar favorite that I’ve seen “100 times”. (Although, for some of these, that’s less an exaggeration than I care to admit.)
And I have quite a few mysteries among these tried-and-true “comfort food” movies. Here are some of my “go to” mystery movies that I never seem to get sick of, no matter how many times I watch them. And while, yes, many of them are older movies, I do have a couple newer releases that have rapidly earned their way onto this elite list.
I haven’t ranked them. When browsing my digital library, I go by what strikes my fancy, not some pre-defined hierarchy. Instead, I’ve simply listed them in chronological order by release date.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
This 1988 live-action/animated mystery comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film is set in a 1947 version of Hollywood where cartoon characters (Toons) and humans coexist, and it follows down-on-his-luck private investigator Eddie Valiant (played by Bob Hoskins) who gets drawn into a murder investigation involving the cartoon character Roger Rabbit. The film blends traditional animation and live action, and involves a plot full of humor, mystery, and a groundbreaking achievement in creating interaction between animated and live-action characters.
What I love about it:
Especially when a down-and-out day inspires the need for a “comfort food” mystery movie, it’s hard to go wrong with comedy. And for me, Who Framed Roger Rabbit fits a niche of comedy that speaks to me. Not overly crude or slapstick, while still revolving around the often physical “comedy of toons”. And still with enough cleverness to enhance the film as a murder mystery movie, not just a comedy. Add the nostalgia factor, and the nod to historical changes in the Los Angeles area, and it can certainly shake off the blues.
Dick Tracy
This 1990 action crime film directed by Warren Beatty, who also stars in the film as the titular character, is based on the 1930s comic strip character created by Chester Gould. The film follows detective Dick Tracy as he battles the city’s most dangerous criminals, led by the villainous Big Boy Caprice (played by Al Pacino). In a stylistic blend of film noir and comic strip vibrancy, Tracy must navigate crime-ridden streets, a complicated love triangle, and his own sense of justice to bring the criminals to book.
What I love about it:
When it’s done well, I’m a sucker for a great ensemble cast. And the 1990 Dick Tracy delivers. But while the movie has enough fun to turn around a bad day, it also still manages to surprise me with details I didn’t pick up on when I watched as a kid. Far from “just a comic book movie”, before the days when “comic book movies” were routinely well done, watching the eponomous detective gather evidence to take down the local mob boss stands up to this day. And the visual specticle of the movie, aimed at honoring the story’s comic roots, is still captivating.
Sneakers
This 1992 American comedy caper film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, involves cryptography, espionage, and corporate and government surveillance. The film centers around Martin Bishop (played by Robert Redford), who leads a team of experts specializing in testing security systems, and is blackmailed by government agents into stealing a highly secretive black box. The team finds themselves embroiled in a dangerous game of intrigue and deception, with the mysterious black box having the power to decode any encryption system in the world.
What I love about it:
Although it’s been supplanted multiple times, at one point, I might have called this my favorite movie. Another top-notch ensemble cast, another multi-faceted and layered plot full of intriguing twists and turns. While Sneakers leans more “thriller” or “heist” than pure “mystery”, the core of the plot centers around the unraveling what a mysterious box does and why its existence has endangered the main character and his colleagues.
The Firm
This 1993 American legal thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack is based on the 1991 novel of the same name by John Grisham. The film stars Tom Cruise as Mitch McDeere, a young law graduate who is seduced by a prestigious law firm’s lavish offerings, only to find out that it has a sinister dark side involving the mob. The plot follows McDeere as he becomes embroiled in the FBI’s plot to take down the firm, forcing him to risk his life to expose the corruption while maintaining his legal obligation to attorney-client privilege.
What I love about it:
While I know this one isn’t as “mystery-y” as some of Grisham’s other offerings, like the Pelican Brief, it does have more of an underlying “what’s going on” angle to the intrigue than many others. And I’m a sucker for a great Grisham legal thriller. I love how, 30 years later, I can still pick up on new nuances that escapes my notice on previous viewings. There’s just so much depth and detail in a movie packaged as a thriller. Plus, fine, I acknowledge it, young Tom Cruise.
L.A. Confidential
This a 1997 American neo-noir crime film directed by Curtis Hanson, based on James Ellroy’s 1990 novel of the same name. The film follows three LAPD officers, played by Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce, in 1950s Los Angeles as they investigate a series of murders tied to a larger web of corruption and deceit within the police department and the city’s glamorous facade. The story interweaves multiple plot lines, involving Hollywood celebrities, tabloid journalism, police corruption, and the city’s seedy underworld, leading to an explosive climax.
What I love about it:
This is another movie with enough nuance that I’m still in awe of the intricately woven plot after a dozen (maybe more) rewatches. And still teasing out new details with each rewatch. L.A. Confidential earns its stop on this list through the phenomenal ensemble cast, the convincing portrayal of 1950’s Los Angeles, and the gritty tale of corruption.
Minority Report
This 2002 science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, loosely based on the 1956 short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick. John Anderton is a police captain in a future where a specialized police department called “Pre-Crime” apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge provided by three psychics known as “precogs”. When Anderton himself is predicted to commit a future murder, he goes on the run and seeks to prove his innocence while uncovering a conspiracy within the Pre-Crime system.
What I love about it:
My other fiction true love (I’m allow more than one, right?) is dystopian science fiction. Not post-apocalyptic, “the world fell apart and now we’re all struggling through the aftermath”. But true dystopian “we followed a dangerous concept that seemed like a good idea at the time to its extreme but is rotten just below the shiny surface”. Which makes Minority Report the whole package for me. In addition to being a tightly-plotted mystery, and a simply fantastic story, it’s also a visual spectacle of science fiction movie brilliance.
Paycheck
Inspired by Philip K. Dick’s 1953 short story of the same name, this 2003 American sci-fi action film was directed by John Woo. The movie follows the story of Michael Jennings, a reverse engineer played by Ben Affleck, who routinely has his memory wiped to prevent corporate espionage but finds himself in trouble when he awakens after a 3-year job with no recollection of it. He must decipher a set of seemingly random objects that he sent to himself before the memory wipe, to uncover the truth about his past job and outwit the corporation that is now hunting him.
What I love about it:
Clearly, I’m a fan of Philip K. Dick’s particular flavor of dystopia, because this one sees as much replay as Minority Report when I want a good futuristic mystery. This one revolves around one man who sees a dystopian existence coming and sacrifices everything to prevent it. The action is, admittedly, clunky. But everything else about how Michael Jennings has to follow his own trail of breadcrumbs to identify, and then prevent, the catastrophe he foresaw just works.
Murder on the Orient Express
This 2017 mystery thriller film directed by Kenneth Branagh, is based on Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel of the same name. Branagh stars as the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is tasked with solving a murder that occurs aboard the luxurious Orient Express train traveling across Europe. Surrounded by a diverse array of passengers, each with their own secrets, Poirot must unravel a complex web of clues and deception to find the killer before the train reaches its destination.
What I love about it:
Despite the existence of numerous previous movie adaptations (which I admit, I have not seen), Branagh executed this ensemble-cast retelling of Poirot’s most iconic mystery impeccably. Everything from the casting, to the period costumes and setting, to the visual effects, to the musical score came together to create a tone worthy of the mystery’s gravity and complexity. It’s also inspiring to see advanced in cinematic effects and CGI bring to life a real-world setting with such richness, yet in such an undertated way. And, of course, the quality of Agatha Christie’s mystery lends itself so well to rediscovery every generation or two. This became a favorite the moment I saw it.
Knives Out
Rian Johnson both wrote and directed this 2019 mystery film. The story revolves around the wealthy and eccentric Thrombey family, whose patriarch, crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (played by Christopher Plummer), is found dead after his 85th birthday party. Detective Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig) is hired to investigate the case and, amidst a web of lies and self-serving family members, he works to unravel the truth behind Harlan’s mysterious death.
What I love about it:
In addition to being a brilliantly-plotted mystery masterpiece that unfolds in ever increasingly complex layers of intrigue, I love the incongruity of “Captain America” star Chris Evans as the spoiled rich asshole grandson of the victim. Knives Out also arrived at a time mystery fiction seemed fixated on true crime, and headlines seemed devoid of new murder mystery movies. The most recent addition to this list, this movie grabbed my attention in a big way. And the New England setting tickles the “homesick” portion of my brain.
While viewing a favorite mystery movie doesn’t always forestall the consumption of actual comfort food, I try to lean on the healthier option of “viewing” when I can.
So those are my “comfort food” mystery movie picks. What are yours?
