The Loser's Monologue
"Sometimes I feel I'm gonna break down and cry (so lonely)...Nowhere to go, nothing to do with my time... I get lonely, so lonely, living on my own...
(Freddie Mercury)
Whether to express devouring loneliness, lucid desperation, tempestuous revolt or quiet resignation, there comes a time when a movie character can't take it anymore and must let all the repressed feelings come out, once and for all.
Indeed, not all the lines, quotes and monologues from movies are supposed to be inspirational, there's a time for the top, a time for the flop, a time for cheers and a time for tears... a time for pride and a time for... well, all the opposite.
Here's a list of more-or-less famous self-deprecating lines or admissions of failures from movies, which one of them strikes the most sensitive chord?
Discuss the list here, and cheer up, this is only a poll...
(Freddie Mercury)
Whether to express devouring loneliness, lucid desperation, tempestuous revolt or quiet resignation, there comes a time when a movie character can't take it anymore and must let all the repressed feelings come out, once and for all.
Indeed, not all the lines, quotes and monologues from movies are supposed to be inspirational, there's a time for the top, a time for the flop, a time for cheers and a time for tears... a time for pride and a time for... well, all the opposite.
Here's a list of more-or-less famous self-deprecating lines or admissions of failures from movies, which one of them strikes the most sensitive chord?
Discuss the list here, and cheer up, this is only a poll...
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- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.How does one become second-rate? Can you tell me that? How does the dust fall? When has one lost? First I'm a prince, the heir to the kingdom. Suddenly... before I know it...I'm deposed. Death taps me on the shoulder.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsErnest BorgnineBetsy BlairEsther MinciottiA middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.Sooner or later, there comes a point in a man's life when he gotta face some facts, and one fact I gotta face is that whatever it is that women like, I ain't got it. I chased enough girls in my life. I went to enough dances. I got hurt enough. I don't wanna get hurt no more.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.Why? Why? Why?...Why'd you do it? Why? You're so stupid...I'm not an animal. Why do you treat me like this? I'm not so bad.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsJack NicholsonHope DavisDermot MulroneyA recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.Relatively soon, I will die. Maybe in 20 years, maybe tomorrow, it doesn't matter. Once I am dead and everyone who knew me dies too, it will be as though I never existed. What difference has my life made to anyone. None that I can think of. None at all.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsAl PacinoJohnny DeppMichael MadsenAn FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the Mafia life--at the expense of his regular one.Who the *beep* am I? Who am I? I'm a, a spoke on a wheel.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsJane FondaMichael SarrazinSusannah YorkThe lives of a disparate group of contestants intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon.No. I'd never make it. And maybe it wouldn't make no difference, even if I did. Maybe it's just the whole damn world is like central casting: They got it all rigged before you ever show up.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsMickey RourkeMarisa TomeiEvan Rachel WoodA faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.I used to try to pretend that you didn't exist, but I can't. You're my girl. You're my little girl. And now, I'm an old broken down piece of meat... and I'm alone. And I deserve to be all alone. I just don't want you to hate me.
- DirectorClaude MillerStarsLino VenturaMichel SerraultRomy SchneiderA police inspector, suspecting an attorney of two child sex murders, has him held for a questioning session that goes on for hours.I'm fairly intelligent, have an average physique... Mediocrities resign themselves to the success of exceptional people. They applaud the gifted, the champions, but the success of one of their own exasperates them. It strikes them as an injustice.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..What have I got Harry, hm? Why should I even make the bed, or wash the dishes? I do them, but why should I? I'm alone. Your father's gone, you're gone. I got no one to care for. What have I got, Harry? I'm lonely. I'm old.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.I will speak for you, Father. I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.I feel lousy about the pain that I've caused my wife and kids. I feel guilty and conscience-stricken, and all of those things you think sentimental, but which my generation calls simple human decency. And I miss my home, because I'm beginning to get scared *beep* because all of a sudden it's closer to the end than the beginning.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.Today everything is different; there's no action... have to wait around like everyone else. Can't even get decent food - right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.Look at me, jerking off in the shower... This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.I don't know if I started drinking 'cause my wife left me or my wife left me 'cause I started drinking, but *beep* it anyway.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.And then, something happened. I let go. Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayHarvey AtkinKate LynchWacky hijinks of counselors and campers at a less-than-average summer camp.Even if we win! Even if we play so far above our heads that our noses bleed for a week to ten days; even if God in Heaven above comes down and points his hand at our side of the field; even if every man woman and child held hands together and prayed for us to win, it just wouldn't matter because all the really good looking girls would still go out with the guys from Mohawk because they've got all the money! It just doesn't matter if we win or we lose. IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition. That can be a virtue when it drives us to excel. Resourcefulness, courage, perhaps not on the battlefield, but... there are many forms of courage. Devotion, to my family and to you. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your son.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsRobert BlakeScott WilsonJohn ForsytheTwo ex-cons murder a family in a robbery attempt, before going on the run from the authorities. The police try to piece together the details of the murder in an attempt to track down the killers.All my stuff was piled outside in the snow, where he threw it. I walked away and never looked back. I guess the only thing I'm going to miss in the world...is that poor old man. And his hopeless dreams.