Powerful Movies about loneliness

What movie do you think is the ultimate movie about loneliness in common society?

Into the Wild comes to mind, though I don't know if you could call the problem of the main character in that film loneliness per se. he certainly had no problems meeting and making connections to people, so his social problems were probably more of the "poignant but probably made worse by his own self-analysis" variety. Sad movie though about a self destructive guy trying to go into self-enforced isolation for a number of hard to pinpoint reasons, and really beautifully made by Sean Penn and company. Whoever edited that movie should get a prize of some sort. David Denby in his pretty critical (New Yorker) review -- the only review I've read of the movie so far -- said it was "entirely too visual" and called the "hyperactive camera style" a "Mismatch" for the subject but I can't help thinking that's silly reasoning. The story is about a guy basically trying to make sense of inner psychological chaos so it would make sense to squeeze in all those states and attitudes to show them competing, ie sometimes the camera is in and of the action sometimes just observing lucidly from a distance (sometimes switching back and forth, as when the main character goes swimming for the first time), sometimes making fun of itself playfully sometimes hyper-focused. Focusing all the time on the aesceticism and abstract purity might (might) make an interesting film but it wouldn't have been the film Penn clearly wanted to make, and I think saying that's the main subject is stupid. It's also clearly about coming of age in the sense of trying to decide what's important (relationship-wise, idea-wise), what kind of person he wants to be (Supertramp), how he can make the world he wants meet up with the actual nature of things. All that stuff.

Sorry for starting an argument in your thread about a movie you may not have seen with no-one in particular, just haven't read much about it yet so it's the easiest way for me to think of things to say about the movie. It just went into semi-wide release so you should catch it on the big screen if you can find one and then get back to us.

Oh, I think Taxi Driver (1976) does it. And maybe The Station Agent (2003) for something a little more hopeful.

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Holden, have you seen Into the Wild yet? I'm curious what you thought of it or will think of it...

Nope, haven't seen Into the Wild. I have read the book.

You want lonely, check out The Lonely Man (1953), a really offbeat Western with Jack Palance as an aging gunfighter, tired of being chased by enemies from town to town; his wife's dead, his son (Tony Perkins) hates him, and his one ambition is to do something good for his boy by catching and breaking a herd of mustangs before he goes blind. Palance is really good in this film.

One of my favorite Westerns, The Gunfighterwith Gregory Peck, is a pretty good tale about loneliness.

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Taxi Driver is the ultimate film that deals with lonely protagonists. Well, it was the first MAJOR film I had seen that dealt with such a topic.

I thought that Following dealt with lonliness in an interesting way. The theme is not fully explored, but there is a sense of that Taxi Driveness in Nolan's debut that is rarely acknowledged by critics. In terms of a film that depicts what loneliness can make people do...Taxi Driver and Following tend to be up there for me.

When you say loneliness, the movie Cast Away comes to mind. You probably have seen it before.

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How about the "Sling Blade" cause I think it might loneliness movie too but lucky that little boy liked him and kept him company with him.

More specifically, are there any movies that deal with people who feel like they don't fit into everyday society. I would prefer something newer too. Thanks for all the responses!

^ Going by the former part of that definition, I'm going to nominate Harold and Maude. I don't watch enough new movies to tell you any good ones, though.

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I thought Lost in Translation was semi about loneliness among many other things, but you've probably already seen that.

edit: wait, you never said you were looking for one to watch. but yeah, that's my pick out of ones not already said. Taxi Driver is the ultimate.

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I saw it lately,and the guy who did the translation work did not translate the Japanese conversation in the film,saying that it would be a spoiler to the feelings of loneliness the film is supposed to give us.Of course that works better than if he did,I truly felt lost in Tokyo and lost in translation, a problem not only with a foreign language,but meditation over marriage,and life.People may talk without really saying anything,like what Bob was doing with his wife through the phone.That makes people feel lonely.
Ok,here is the powerful movie about loneliness in my eyes, The
Legend of 1900.It is not common,i suppose,but it has everything to do with a heart that fully appriciates art and life.I guess greatness comes from loneliness.

I believe that every character in literature and movies worthy of our attention is a loner. They don't have to be antisocial to be lonely, they can just have a different perspective of world from everyone else.

If by „loner“ you mean „living apart from rest of the society and having trouble communicating“, Taxi Driver may be the most famous example, but is not necessarily the best. Critics and moviegoers much more rarely mention The King of Comedy as another example of superb character study by Martin Scorsese. Taxi Driver is considered more “powerful” because of a more serious approach, darker visuals and more graphical depiction of misery and violence, but sometimes comedy can tell you much more and be much more serious than a “serious movie”. I know that many would disagree, but I find The King of Comedy much more mature than Taxi Driver, and most of other Scorsese movies. I like every single one of his movies I’ve seen so far and I love his frantic directing and editing style, but this one felt like Scorsese had the most faith in its story and characters than any other movie he’s directed before or since, not having to use an arsenal of visual gimmickry.

Back to the topic, my favorite loner movie is Coppola’s low-key Conversation. Another movie which critics and moviegoers often overlook because of its director’s other more famous and visually and story wise more spectacular movies, it works as a thriller, but its main strengths are masterful screenplay, great direction full of slow and static, but beautiful shots, and Gene Hackman’s excellent performance which some actors are still trying to emulate (most recently, Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd).

Ghost World
Harold and Maude
TAXI DRIVER (Yeah, it still fits the criteria)
The Breakfast Club
The Conversation
Heavenly Creatures

Man, there are a TON of flicks that could be perceived as fitting into this loose criteria of not fitting into society, one could make a case for anything from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to Fight Club...

That said, Watch Taxi Driver, because it IS the best, IMO.

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The Telephone (1987)


The Whoopi Goldberg movie you'd only know about if you saw it in video stores, if it's still around. Not exactly powerful and not exactly good. There's barely anyone else in the movie besides Whoopi, as it's mostly her talking on a telephone in her apartment or driving a neighbor lady (heard offscreen) crazy with her antics. There's one scene where some acquaintances come over to watch a comedy routine video that Whoopi's character Vashti Blue starred in, but for the most part, all you see in the movie is Whoopi or her pet owl.

I thought of it because it's two hours watching a woman cooped up in her apartment just talking away on her telephone... and then the big surprise at the end is...



Definitely a movie about loneliness, though.

Edward Scissorhands. There's a lot of pain and alienation simmering just underneath the film's whimsy and colourful set design. Edward is a very lonely character, distanced from others by his inability to touch and by his social awkwardness. One of my favourites.

I think American Beauty is definitely a contender. Ghost World though, as Sedai mentioned, is probably my favorite choice so far though (as it pertains to the topic at hand).