Movies whose heroes suffer from loneliness

by gameofthronesandme | created - 05 May 2022 | updated - 18 Jul 2022 | Public

This is a list of the best films in which the hero is alone or spends most of his life in isolation

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1. Serpico (1973)

R | 130 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

83 Metascore

An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire

Votes: 134,921 | Gross: $29.80M

A great performance by Al Pacino in embodying the character of a lone honorable officer

2. Carlito's Way (1993)

R | 144 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

66 Metascore

A Puerto Rican former convict, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of N.Y.C.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo

Votes: 232,489 | Gross: $36.95M

3. Taxi Driver (1976)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama

94 Metascore

A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks

Votes: 921,383 | Gross: $28.26M

4. Detachment (2011)

Not Rated | 98 min | Drama

52 Metascore

A substitute teacher who drifts from classroom to classroom finds a connection to the students and teachers during his latest assignment.

Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu

Votes: 99,226 | Gross: $0.07M

5. The Pianist (2002)

R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music

85 Metascore

During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox

Votes: 913,020 | Gross: $32.57M

6. Death Wish (1974)

R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama

51 Metascore

A New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.

Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats

Votes: 44,072 | Gross: $22.00M

7. Barry Lyndon (1975)

PG | 185 min | Adventure, Drama, War

89 Metascore

An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger

Votes: 183,206

8. Fight Club (1999)

R | 139 min | Drama

67 Metascore

An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier

Votes: 2,325,833 | Gross: $37.03M

9. Se7en (1995)

R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

65 Metascore

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker

Votes: 1,800,354 | Gross: $100.13M

10. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

R | 142 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

Votes: 2,890,776 | Gross: $28.34M

11. Cast Away (2000)

PG-13 | 143 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

74 Metascore

A FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Paul Sanchez, Lari White

Votes: 639,111 | Gross: $233.63M

12. One Day (2011)

PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Romance

48 Metascore

After spending the night together on the eve of their college graduation, Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, and sometimes not.

Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Tom Mison

Votes: 167,965 | Gross: $13.84M

13. Wicker Park (2004)

PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance

40 Metascore

A young Chicago advertising executive believes a woman he sees in a café is his long-lost love. His belief leads to obsession, as he puts his life on hold in order to trail her.

Director: Paul McGuigan | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Matthew Lillard, Rose Byrne

Votes: 58,645 | Gross: $12.83M

14. Dead Man (1995)

R | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

62 Metascore

On the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen

Votes: 103,124 | Gross: $1.04M

15. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

R | 116 min | Drama, Horror, Musical

83 Metascore

The legendary tale of a barber who returns from wrongful imprisonment to 1840s London, bent on revenge for the rape and death of his wife, and resumes his trade while forming a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall

Votes: 387,043 | Gross: $52.90M

16. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

74 Metascore

The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall

Votes: 524,130 | Gross: $56.36M

17. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

R | 229 min | Crime, Drama

75 Metascore

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams

Votes: 377,964 | Gross: $5.32M

18. Memento (2000)

R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller

83 Metascore

A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior

Votes: 1,323,664 | Gross: $25.54M

19. 127 Hours (2010)

R | 94 min | Biography, Drama

82 Metascore

A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.

Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Sean Bott

Votes: 401,585 | Gross: $18.34M

20. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

75 Metascore

Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen

Votes: 1,096,557 | Gross: $164.62M

21. Good Time (2017)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

80 Metascore

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.

Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Buddy Duress

Votes: 140,382 | Gross: $2.03M

22. Life of Pi (2012)

PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

79 Metascore

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu

Votes: 667,163 | Gross: $124.99M

23. A Short Film About Love (1988)

Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Romance

A naive inexperienced young man spies on a woman who lives across the courtyard, and falls in love with her. He starts using tricks which he hopes will lead to them meeting.

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko, Stefania Iwinska, Piotr Machalica

Votes: 26,093

24. The Piano Teacher (2001)

R | 131 min | Drama, Music

79 Metascore

A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.

Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel, Susanne Lothar

Votes: 71,880 | Gross: $1.90M

25. Breathless (1960)

Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama

A small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.

Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Van Doude, Jean-Luc Godard

Votes: 87,977 | Gross: $0.34M

26. Manchester by the Sea (2016)

R | 137 min | Drama

96 Metascore

A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.

Director: Kenneth Lonergan | Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges

Votes: 314,037 | Gross: $47.70M

A man deceived by life and threw him to the ground And I made him miserable and sad, and he does not lift his face from the ground, and always regrets I think this drama will make you tear up

27. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

GP | 127 min | Crime, Drama

92 Metascore

A laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.

Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D. Cannon

Votes: 188,624 | Gross: $16.22M

Luke is calm, intelligent and deceptive Sad, but there is no clear reason for this sadness

I think he likes eggs And beans too

This masterpiece is a study of an amazingly attractive personality Luke is a man who plans nothing in life but is very likable

I really liked Luke.



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