During the Valentine’s season, many seek out movies full of romance and happy endings. It’s cheap, cliche, grating and silly. But for non-romantics, many dodge the rom-coms and go straight for movies with misanthropic, angry loners. Why? Is it the young adult urge to force oneself to be sad or feel alone? Is it a collective obsession with Patrick Bateman from American Psycho or Arthur Fleck from Joker? Or, is it out of some greater need for gratification we don’t experience in our own lives? Ultimately… Where are the movies for the miserable? Let’s take a look at the top 8 most misanthropic and find out!
Catharsis May Be Involved…
Misery-focused-fiction has historically been a top-seller since the Ancient Greeks. Humans experience catharsis, according to Aristotle, when other people suffer so they do not have to. This witnessing of strong emotions, stemming from misery, is, then, meant to purify one from their craziest and biggest emotions. From this, we have a lifetime of what are called “tearjerker” movies. Stuff like My Girl, The Whale, The Fault in Our Stars, This Boy’s Life, Extremely Loud/Incredibly Close, and anything else a dad may use as an excuse to shed very masculine tears.
But, what happens if you get all the feelings locked in, but they don’t have a resolute ending that allows you to pat yourself on the back for crying? This list of movies looks specifically at generally misanthropic behavior. Being misunderstood is big for young adults, and many attach to misanthropy in movies and TV because they are seeing others struggle with society and life the same way they are beginning to. Fortunately, or unfortunately, misanthropy sells. We see it in box office successes like the “Joker” in Joker, TV hits like Riverdale’s Jughead Jones, MTV’s titular Daria, and, iconically, in book character Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye.
Though, all of those characters are a little… well, over-reported in the genre. We can do better than that. Let’s get into it! Here are the…
Top 8 Miserable Movies (that aren’t the Joker)
American Psycho (2000)
Starting with something everyone undoubtedly knows: American Psycho, directed by Mary Harron. An ultimate lonely loser is this iconic yuppie and murderer(?), Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale). Though he has been rendered recently as a meme, Bateman is miserable because of 1) society, 2) modern masculinity, and 3) his own complacent. His false happiness and obsessive behavior enables the loneliness-fueled unreality he lives in.
IMDb: 7.6/10
Where to Watch: Netflix
Ghost World (2001)
Now, something to prove girls can feel alienated too: Ghost World, directed by Terry Zwigoff. Originally adapted from a graphic novel of the same name, the film follows two punky, dorky teenage girls, Enid (Scarlett Johansson) and Rebecca (Thora Birch), as they navigate life after high school. The heart of the film is when Seymour (Steve Buscemi) shows up and forms an unlikely friendship with Enid. Together, try to find their way through loneliness and societal-loathing.
IMDb: 7.3/10
Where to Watch: Plex
Donnie Darko (2001)
Also from 2001 was Donnie Darko. The cult-film to end all cult-films follows the uncomfortable, possible-schizophrenic, Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal). He is a misanthrope completely out of touch with reality, but finds some sort of purpose when he hallucinates a man in a blue-gray rabbit suit that tells him the world is ending. That about covers what’s going on there.
IMDb: 8.0/10
Where to Watch: Tubi
Taxi Driver (1976)
Where would misanthropy be without Travis Bickle? Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese, follows the Vietnam Vet, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro). who drives a taxi in NYC after his tenure in the war. As he grows increasingly disturbed by the city’s corruption, Travis becomes obsessed with rescuing a young prostitute, Iris (Jody Foster). Again, another movie driven by the protagonist’s failing grasp on reality.
IMDb: 8.2/10
Where to Watch: Prime Video
The Devil, Probably (1977)
Let’s not leave out international selections too. This film, directed by the incomparable Robert Bresson, is about Charles (Antoine Monnier), a kid who is extremely disillusioned by everything in his path. Charles loses faith, his sense of identity and becomes majorly disillusioned. Suddenly, he and his band of equally miserable friends become obsessed with the idea of suicide, contemplating what to do with their own existence.
IMDb: 7.1/10
Where to Watch: Prime Video
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
The Place Beyond the Pines follows the intertwined lives of a motorcycle stuntman, Luke (Ryan Gosling), and a police officer, Avery (Bradley Cooper). After a robbery goes sideways, Luke tries to reconnect with his family, with little success. The film, directed by Derek Cianfrance, ends with Luke’s son getting mixed up with Avery’s son, and history repeats itself. The butterfly effect of actions and consequences is the heart of this miserable film.
IMDb: 7.3/10
Where to Watch: itvX
Eraserhead (1977)
This article would be incomplete without mentioning the beloved director David Lynch‘s Eraserhead. The film is a surreal nightmare about anxiety and fatherhood. The film sits exploration of anxiety, fatherhood, and isolation. Eraserhead sits in the psyche of Henry Spencer (Jack Nance). His life is bleak, structured and miserable. And then he ends up caretaking for his child, the affectionately referred to “Eraserhead Baby” pictured above.
IMDb: 7.3/10
Where to Watch: MUBI
Naked (1993)
Arguably, the quintessential onscreen misanthrope is Johnny (David Thewlis) from Naked. The film director is the English cult-film legend Mike Leigh. Naked follows Johnny, a deeply cynical young man who stalks the streets of London. After a violent encounter, he seeks refuge with his ex-girlfriend. Johnny heckles a series of strange characters on his journey to nowhere. The movie’s overall themes are alienation, the depths of despair, and coming to terms with what it means to be human nowadays.
IMDb: 7.3/10
Where to Watch: Prime Video, Apple TV
That’s a Lot of Angst… What’s the Point?
A common theme in many of these misanthropic movies, which may stem back to The Catcher in the Rye or Ancient Greece, is that these guys do not understand if their reality is really real. These films work through messages about detatchment, and how, the more detached you become, the further into a fantasy world you drive yourself. Perhaps that makes us ask which one we like better: reality or fiction? You can be your own judge. Just don’t be like Patrick Bateman, okay? Let’s let American Psycho be satire.
