Tracing the thread…
Masterfully depicted ambitious characters undone by their own schemes in noir classics like Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment.
Martin Scorsese USARepeatedly explores the inevitable collapse of elaborate criminal and personal schemes through meticulous character studies like Goodfellas and Casino.
Ethan Coen USACrafts darkly comic narratives where characters' carefully laid plans catastrophically unravel, most notably in Fargo and No Country for Old Men.