The Lookout is not just one of the best modern crime flicks you’ve never heard of.  It’s also the most compelling dramatic depiction of backwards induction I can remember. 

The lead character has trouble sequencing his actions (wake up, shower, eat, get your keys, lock the door, etc.) due to a brain injury.  So his roommate tells him to stop thinking of it as “sequencing,” and tell a story instead.  Ho-hum.  But then his roommate adds that he should start with the way he wants his day’s story to end, and work backwards from there, step by step. 

I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that in this movie, backwards induction turns out to be a very useful skill indeed!