# Great Movies w/ Singular Character in Solitary Despair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, wine\ **Created:** [December 25, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151 "2024-12-25T16:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/1 "2024-12-25T16:43:50Z")
Maybe a better question would be, “Is there a movie like ‘Hunger’”? He’s in every scene. The people he meets along the way aren’t important, and take up no more than a few seconds. He’s a writer who can’t eat because he can’t write. He can’t write because he doesn’t eat. The little money he makes, he gives away. He’s in a battle with himself. I think because the character from Knut Hamsun’s “Sult” is so rare also helps this 10/10… Per Oscarsson is also one hell of an actor who could be so convincing in Danish or English (Peckinpah’s “Wine Noon”) [https://youtu.be/RShayOfGTJ8](https://youtu.be/RShayOfGTJ8) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/2 "2024-12-25T16:49:51Z")
Polanki’s character in “The Tenant”. EDIT: would Isabelle Adjani in “The Story of Adele H” count? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/3 "2024-12-25T17:10:56Z")
Couple more: “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” “Eraserhead” “PeepingTom” ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/4 "2024-12-25T17:21:48Z")
The one that springs to mind is _The Revenant_. There are two ordeals going on: one for the main character and the other for the audience. That film is brutal. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/5 "2024-12-25T17:27:09Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > “The Story of Adele H” You know, I remember the actress only, but not the movie. Saw it years ago. I saw the others, and think “Peeping Tom” is an excellent movie that also fits excellently. Every time I think of that movie, “The Collector” (1965) comes to mind for some reason. He obviously wasn’t alone the entire movie, but he is in his own world. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/6 "2024-12-25T18:25:17Z")
Not clear on the parameters of the question. Works about alienated individuals? Plenty of those: Silent Snow, Secret Snow, by Conrad Aiken. Paul’s Case by Willa Cather (which in no small way inspired Catcher in the Rye). Spider, a typically creepy David Cronenberg, Herman Hesse’s Steppenwolf, Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth (where the line between alienation and desperation is blurred). And of course Poe, Kafka, Celine and Beckett are chock full of it. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/7 "2024-12-25T21:44:30Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Polanki’s character in “The Tenant”. Catherine Deneuve in “Repulsion” came to mind (although she interacts with some other characters). ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/8 "2024-12-25T21:49:37Z")
Crossed my mind too. (and really - not sure how many films there are with a lone protagonist interacting with next to no people, as the OP seems to be looking for) (heh - “Castaway”? Never saw the film, so don’t know how much “despair” Tom’s character was going through) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/9 "2024-12-26T01:51:34Z")
David Thewlis’ character in _Naked_, directed by Mike Leigh. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/10 "2024-12-26T02:45:40Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > (heh - “Castaway”? Never saw the film, so don’t know how much “despair” Tom’s character was going through) A butt ton of despair; great contribution. Last year’s **The End We Start From** features (an excellent) Jody Comer alone during a catastrophic storm in London. To be fair, she is with her newborn, but the baby doesn’t have any dialogue. I suppose an obvious one is Vincent Price in **The Last Man on Earth** , unless the OP is looking form films literally featuring one person. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/11 "2024-12-26T02:54:54Z")
Just saw it. The island scenes, which are a lot of the film, are pretty despairing. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/12 "2024-12-26T17:50:27Z")
“Leaving Las Vegas”. Elisabeth Shue’s character is fleshed out quite a bit, but Nicolas Cage’s anguish is the main feature here. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/13 "2024-12-26T19:00:10Z")
_A Man Escaped_ (1956) and _Pickpocket_ (1959) would seem to qualify, probably along with other Robert Bresson films I haven’t seen because they looked too slow and/or boring. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/14 "2024-12-27T00:09:08Z")
**Johnny Got His Gun.** ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/15 "2024-12-27T00:12:05Z")
Great movies Great movie. I think it’s still on YouTube for free. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/16 "2024-12-27T00:12:44Z")
Very good movie. Although the owner seemed even more deranged! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/17 "2024-12-27T04:37:26Z")
Robert Redford in _All Is Lost_, Ryan Reynolds in _Buried_ and Tom Hanks in _Cast Away_? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/18 "2024-12-27T05:44:59Z")
The very first card in “Le Samourai” says, “There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle… Perhaps…” However Samurai do not feel _despair…_ ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/19 "2024-12-27T06:39:21Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I suppose an obvious one is Vincent Price in **The Last Man on Earth** , unless the OP is looking form films literally featuring one person. On which note, I Am Legend must surely count, especially the scene with Will Smith talking to the mannequin after he puts down his dog. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151/20 "2024-12-27T07:15:54Z")
It wasn’t a Great Movie (I can’t even remember the name), but it was _one guy,_ driving and talking on a cell phone. His whole life kinda unravels over the course of him driving to attend the birth of his child with some woman he cheated on his wife with. Loses his family, job, the works. It was a tedious film. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-w-singular-character-in-solitary-despair/1012151.md?page=2)