Hi there,
I recently saw the movie: Black Swan. Good picture, good acting! One thing that stood out to me though was the fact that this movie is kinda dreary. I don’t think I have ever seen the sun shine in that movie. Everybody seems to hate one another and there is just an overall really negative vibe going on.
It suited the movie perfectly. So I was wondering if anyone knows of any other movies where the setting is just depressing/dreary for no apparent reason*.
- To which I mean there is no direct reason a character (or story) should be sad or depressed. I hope I am explaining this well 🙏 An example would be Saturday Night Fever.
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That’s basically every Darren Aronofsky movie.
The Banshees of Inisherin. I expected a comedy from the reviews, not something this dark.
Synecdoche, New York
Excellent recommendation. I loved it when I was young but am I scared to rewatch as I approach (or have reached) middle age.
This is a grim movie and I watch it like every 6 months. One of my favorites.
The machinist? Or any serial killer movie, hannibal, 7, taxi driver, american psycho
The road, but read the book for extra points.
While it’s a depressing movie (and book, of course - and I agree the book is if anything even better), the characters have every single possible reason to be depressed. Without getting into any spoilers you couldn’t get by reading the back cover, the main character is mourning the loss of his wife, the end of civilization, and knowing his child will only inherit a bleak world of ashes.
Good point. I just thought of high level depressing movies without further thought of the plot.
Just finished reading the book and I wouldn’t say the bleakness has no purpose. The bleakness contrasts those brief moments of un-bleakness (hope feels like too strong a word in this context). Those moments like drinking coke or finding shrivelled apples on the brink of starvation became so much more meaningful because of how bleak their situation is.
Boogie Nights - Paul Thomas Anderson made it a point that the characters not make any significant growth during the course of the film. It’s a masterclass of largely lateral movement.
Happiness (1998) - one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s best roles.
The Talented Mr. Ripley - another one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s best roles.
Requiem for a Dream, Drugstore Cowboys, Naked Lunch, Less Than Zero.
Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon comes to mind.
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Brave little toaster flower scene
The Grey with Liam Neeson!
Mr. Lonely will duck you up. Dancer in the dark; Breaking the waves; Requiem for a dream. Let me know if you want more.
God damn Breaking the Waves. I kinda forgot about that one.
I’ll never, ever watch Dancer in the dark again.
Drugstore cowboy
I like Eye of the Beholder with Ashley Judd and StarWars McGregor or whatever his name is.
Also Flashbacks of a Fool with Daniel Craig.
And Five Easy Pieces with young Karen Black and that one guy.
Buried with Ryan Reynolds
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Butterfly Effect
I think there’s a clear reason why the setting would be depressing for ‘the boy in the striped pyjamas’
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