15 Best Movies About Loneliness

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a veteran who experiences loneliness and alienation in New York. His inner rage and isolation grow until he explodes in violence. A classic about existential loneliness.

Directed by Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson meet by chance in Tokyo, both lost and estranged from their own lives. A melancholic film about connection, but also the inevitable realization that some relationships are temporary.

Directed by Spike Jonze. Joaquin Phoenix plays a lonely man who falls in love with an AI operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). A moving but unsettling look at modern loneliness and the need for connection in an increasingly digital world.

Directed by David Lowery. A man dies but lingers as a ghost in his house as time passes around him and he's forgotten. A hypnotic, deeply philosophical film about the ultimate form of loneliness.

Directed by Sean Penn. A young man leaves society behind and heads into the Alaskan wilderness to find absolute freedom. His journey, however, leads to a heartbreaking insight: happiness is only real when shared.

Directed by Robert Eggers. Two men are isolated in a lighthouse and slowly begin to lose their minds. A claustrophobic, intense film about isolation, paranoia and the fragility of the human mind.

Directed by Roman Polanski. Adrien Brody plays a pianist who has to survive alone in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. A true story about physical and emotional loneliness during the Holocaust.

Directed by Todd Phillips. Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a man ignored by society who slowly descends into madness. A dark, painful portrait of social isolation and the destructive effect of total loneliness.

Directed by Wim Wenders. A mysterious man who has been missing for years wanders out of the Texas desert and tries to reconnect with his family and his lost past. A beautiful, melancholic portrait of loneliness and regret.

Directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson. A man experiences the world as monotonous, with everyone sounding the same, until he meets a unique woman. An intelligent stop-motion film about the loneliness of modern life.

Directed by Brad Anderson. Christian Bale plays a man suffering from extreme insomnia and paranoia, crumbling mentally and physically. A psychological thriller showing how loneliness and guilt can break the human mind.

Directed by Duncan Jones. An astronaut near the end of a three-year solo stint on the moon discovers that something isn't right with his reality. An intelligent sci-fi film that explores loneliness in a unique way.

Directed by Peter Weir. Jim Carrey plays a man who has unknowingly lived his whole life in a TV show, surrounded by actors. When he discovers that everything around him is fake, he's confronted with the true meaning of loneliness.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Tom Hanks plays a man who has to survive alone on an island after a plane crash. His only 'friend' becomes a volleyball named Wilson, showing how deep the human need for company is.

Directed by Nicolas Roeg. David Bowie plays an alien stranded on Earth, struggling with the loneliness of an unfamiliar world. A unique, philosophical film about alienation and isolation.