Everyone, at some stage of their life at least, sits with the feeling that they are a misfit, an outsider living on the periphery of normality. As such, films that focus on pariahs have a unique ability to resonate with the masses while still appealing to a specific feeling of isolation that many people feel a powerful connection to, almost as if the story and characters are touching on something they alone know in such depth and detail.
Whether these films opt to celebrate the wondrous peculiarity of being different and unique or examine social outcasts in a lens of contemplative drama, danger, tragedy, and suspense,all 10 of these pictures excel as thoughtful and engrossing stories of misfits. Sprawling across many genres, encompassing decades-old classics and modern masterpieces, the greatest films about outcasts and outsiders are among the best the medium has ever seen.
10’Donnie Darko' (2001)
Directed by Richard Kelly
One of the defining films of the early 2000s,Donnie Darkoblends sci-fi suspense with psychological thrills to deliver a winding, time-bending story of teenage torment. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an awkward high school student who finds himself entangled in a bizarre scenario when a man in a monstrous rabbit costume tells him the world will end in 28 days. The troubled teen begins carrying out fateful crimes at the behest of the mysterious entity while grappling with the mystery of a plane engine that crashed into his room.
Complemented by its moody atmosphere andGyllenhaal’s excellent performance as the tumultuous teen,Donnie Darkowinds together a thought-provoking story of tremendous intelligence, foresight, and enigmatic intrigue.Gyllenhaal imbues Donnie with a slight devilish streak, a wry and mischievous grin that suggests his outsider status might be by design.
Donnie Darko
9’Nightcrawler' (2014)
Directed by Dan Gilroy
Fromone exceptional dark thrillerstarring Jake Gyllenhaal to another,Nightcrawleris one of the bleakest and most cynical depictions of a social outcast. He features as Lou Bloom, a sociopathic petty thief who takes up photojournalism, hunting down the most heinous and violent incidents in L.A. each night to film them and sell the footage for profit to a local news station.
Brutal, confronting, and matching the calculating chill of its cold-blooded protagonist,Nightcrawlerthrives as a scorching indictment on the media, the sadistic public demand for such material, and the society that allows such practices to be profitable. Gyllenhaal’s Bloom isan unforgettable character, a remorseless loner of unhindered dedicationwho will do anything to get the footage he needs.
Nightcrawler
8’Carrie' (1976)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Based on Stephen King’s 1974 novelof the same name,Carrieis one of the most famous, unnerving, and enduring horror movies that has ever been released. It focuses on Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), a bullied high school student in possession of telekinetic powers who lives under the thumb of her ultra-religious and controlling mother. Things seem to turnaround for Carrie when she is invited to the school prom by a sympathetic student, but everything soon spirals out of control with horrific consequences.
While an exceptional display of horror visuals,Carrie’s greatest asset is how it uses the idea of a high school misfit to serve as a basis for Carrie’s naïve vulnerability. Audiences can’t help but resonate with her life of exclusion and oppression, making her moments of levity incredibly powerful and her eventual turn all the more tragic. It isa brilliant, genre-focused exploration of what it is to be a teenage outsider, with the magnificence of the end result a decades-spanning and defining classic of horror cinema.
7’Pig' (2021)
Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Offbeat, darkly comical, and disarmingly potent,Pigcoasts on a textured and understated performance fromNicolas Cage to be one of his best films. He stars as a truffle hunter, once a renowned chef, living alone in the Oregon forest who cherishes his one true companion, a foraging pig. When the pig is kidnapped, the recluse begrudgingly returns to Portland to search for the pig.
Anchored by an aching rawness, the film is a stunning exploration of loss and love, one that uses its unusual premise to hit hard at notions of human connection with profound power and surprising warmth. Cage himself is flawless as the lead,a tired and emotionally exhausted outcast who has rejected society as much as it has rejected him. His connection with his beloved pig is both tragic and beautiful.
6’The Perks of Being a Wallflower' (2012)
Directed by Stephen Chbosky
A lot of high school dramas focus on the common experience of feeling like an outsider, occupying the space around the fun and the focus of the schoolyard, rather than being present in it.The Perks of Being a Wallflowercaptures this aura exceptionally, but then it also elaborates to show how rewarding and meaningful it is when one does finally find a group of people who gives them a sense of belonging.
Logan Lerman stars as Charlie, an introverted 15-year-old with a dark past who befriends two seniors in Sam (Emma Watson) and her brother Patrick (Ezra Miller).It balances its tale of friendship with the anguish and dread of being a misfitin spectacular fashion, withStephen Chboskydirecting the film with a deft touch that realizes his own novel with heart, drama, and wonderful resolve to be the ultimate tale of teenage isolation and self-discovery.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
5’Drive' (2011)
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
A hypnotic thriller of crime and quiet love,Drivehas overcome its initial poor performance to endure as a spellbinding and stylistically arresting picture.Ryan Goslingstars as an unnamed stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway expert for criminals in L.A.. A lonely figure, he begins to develop a tender relationship with his neighbor and her young son, but the father’s return after being released from prison casts the driver into a deadly web of money and violence.
Against the neon-infused backdrop of Los Angeles’ seedy underbelly,Drivefinds a fantastic grounding presence in Gosling’s reclusive and restrained protagonist, with the actor’s performance becoming nothing short of iconic. Further bolstered by an atmospheric serenity that clashes violently with moments of palpable intensity,Driveis a unique depiction of misfit woe and unlikely romance, but it is undeniably enrapturing.
Rent on Apple TV
4’Harvey' (1950)
Directed by Henry Koster
A terrific picture that is perhaps the greatest ever depiction ofJimmy Stewart’s unassuming everyman charm,Harveyis a somewhat underrated old Hollywood classic of human decency and wonder. Stewart stars as Elwood P. Dowd, a rich and bumbling drunk dismissed by his family on account of his ongoing friendship with an imaginary six-foot-tall rabbit. When his family try to admit him to a facility, however, it becomes clear that the rabbit may not be quite so imaginary.
What makes Elwood such a fantastic character is that, despite being an outcast oblivious to the slights he receives, he treats everyone he encounters with the greatest of respect.His polite and gentle demeanor is a heart-melting anchor to the story that gleefully sprawls off into situational comedyand a tender tale of child-like fantasy.Harveyhas aged gracefully as an arresting tale of the importance and power of human kindness.
3’Her' (2013)
Directed by Spike Jonze
A wonderful example of the all-too-raremarriage of science-fiction and romance,Heruses the seemingly inevitable technological advancements of the near future to deliver a profound tale of love and connection. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is a lonely, heartbroken, and introverted writer who buys a new AI system to help him with his work. Enchanted by the computer’s ability to learn and evolve, Theodore gradually finds himself falling in love with it.
The social commentary of an isolated misfit finding emotional nourishment, friendship, and even love in the form of a computer is complex to say the least, butSpike Jonzegrapples with all the story’s nuances with respect, acceptance, and intelligence to ensureHerthrives at every stage. Complemented byPhoenix’s brilliant and richly sympathetic portrayal of loneliness and longing,Hermarks an unlikely yet exceptional highlight of romantic cinema in the 21st century.
2’Taxi Driver' (1976)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickel is the quintessential cinematic misfit. A Vietnam War veteran who works as a taxi driver in New York City, Bickel holds a vindictive and volatile disdain for the world around him, one that is exacerbated by his romantic woes, a looming political campaign, and a cruel pimp’s treatment of an underage prostitute. His enraged desire for social change boils beneath the surface.
UnderMartin Scorsese’s astute direction,Taxi Driveris a harrowing descent into the recesses of a twisted and disturbed man’s mind, one whose disgust at the society he inhabits gradually careens into a mission. De Niro is at his extraordinary best as Bickel, making the character an embittered and unpredictable figure of tension, but also an awkward and lost soul as well. It remains one of the most confronting, considered, and nuanced depictions of a social outcast ever put to screen.
Taxi Driver
Rent on Amazon
1’Amélie' (2001)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
If Travis Bickel is the definition of a violent and dangerous filmic outsider, thenAudrey Tautou’s Amélie is the emblematic outcast of all that is good and wholesome. The French romantic-comedy follows Amélie, an introverted and shy waitress, as she develops a taste for anonymously meddling in the lives of those around her. She conducts loving unseen deeds to help those in her community find happiness and love, but her ostracized nature hinders her when she finds a love of her own.
Enhanced by a gorgeous visual palette and an unabashed belief in the power of human decency,Amélieis an affirming masterpiece of good will and true love (andan incredibly calming movie). It findsa beautiful and heart-snatching core in the form of its quiet and reclusive protagonist, who uses her social detachment to her advantage in her pursuit to enrich the lives of those around her.
