The Top 5 Solitary Man Films Of Paul Schrader
Over his 45-year career (and counting!), Paul Schrader has built quite a rich career for himself and earned a reputation as one of Hollywood’s greatest screenwriters. With a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a minor in theology, and a Master’s in film studies (with Pauline Kael as his mentor), Schrader began his journey as a film critic, during which time he published his book Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer, before pivoting into screenwriting, where he drafted several scripts for Marin Scorsese (some of which remain the strongest works of the influential director’s career). 1978’s Blue Collar, which starred Harvey Keitel and Richard Pryor, marked Schrader’s first foray into directing, and since then, he’s gone on to direct 22 films (and counting!) that canvas various topics, themes, and genres. However, throughout his storied career, there’s one theme that Schrader continually returns to, that of the solitary man (which he refers to as his “a man sitting in a room” or “man at a table” films).
Beginning with 1976’s seminal Taxi Driver, Schrader has consistently gifted cinemagoers a new variation on this motif each decade, and somehow, he always manages to make it feel fresh and exciting despite their familiar elements. The men in these stories are united in their loneliness, their all-consuming occupations, and the comfort they seem to find in violence, yet they all operate in different times, locations, and political states, which makes each iteration its own distinct meditation.
With the recent release of The Card Counter, we’re looking back on Paul Schrader’s “solitary man” films to highlight some of our favorite variations!
5: Light Sleeper (1992)
Schrader’s third chapter in the exploration of the solitary man finds him bringing more mature shades of humanity. Set in New York City during a sanitation strike, this moody and atmospheric neo-noir follows the insomniatic ex-addict John LeTour (played with great pathos by Willem Dafoe), as he deals high-class drugs and battles a growing midlife crisis. After a chance encounter with an old flame, Ann, his life is upended, causing the already lost LeTour to spiral further out of control. There’s a noticeable meander to Light Sleeper’s pacing, and it echoes Taxi Driver and American Gigolo a bit too closely, which dampens some of its impact. Still, the Pickpocket ending here (which Schrader first used in American Gigolo and would later return to in The Card Counter) is recontextualized in a way that’s more emotionally resonate.
4: The Card Counter (2021)
Light Sleeper meets Dog Eat Dog by way of First Reformed, The Card Counter is a mixed deck of everything Schrader, and while it’s not exactly a full house, it still proves to be a pretty winning hand for the veteran filmmaker. You’ll find notes and echoes of other Schrader films, but there’s a noticeable difference that sets Oscar Issac’s “William Tell” apart from the rest of Schrader’s solitary men. Tell’s looking for the same expiation that eats so many of Schrader’s solitary men alive, but he seems to have things more figured out. He’s calculated and actively trying to work out an answer, but he’s only focused on the things that are within his control. As Schrader slowly turns the cards on this twisted game of Texas hold ‘em, he presents us with an incendiary conclusion that collapses his measured house of cards in a wholly satisfying way, before landing on an affectively poignant final image that once again reinvents Bresson’s Pickpocket.
3: American Gigolo (1980)
A sexy, sleek, and electric neo-noir that marks Paul Schrader’s first solo venture into the solitary man film. The film branded Richard Gere as a leading man and features a kinetically pulsing musical score composed by Giorgio Moroder, which also includes the toe-tapping Blondie hit, "Call Me,” and some chic suits Giorgio Armani. It’s also one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to include frontal male nudity from its main star, so if you want to take a peak at Richard Gere in his prime, this is the film for you! This lavish portrait of loneliness finds the materialistic and narcissistic male escort Julian Kay (Gere) implicated in the murder of a wealthy client. Notably different from Schrader’s other solitary man films for not including a diary or a voiceover, American Gigolo would mark the first instance of a final image, plucked straight out of Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket, which Schrader would return to at a few different points in his career.
2: First Reformed (2017)
Swapping out Bresson’s Pickpocket for Diary Of A Country Priest, Schrader crafts one of his most resinous and powerful solitary man tales. Featuring a career-best performance from Ethan Hawke and one of the most mesmerizing endings of Schrader’s whole career, this thoroughly engrossing slow burn gives you much to chew on, and it has the potential to quite literally leave you shaken.The teetering between hope and despair is a key theme, and we focus on the modulation of these two extremes as seen from the viewpoint of Hawkes’ Reverend Toller. In typical Schrader fashion, we’re given voiceover of diary entries that provide us an intravenous gateway into Toller’s inner turmoil, which culminate in the film’s unforgettable ending. Ultimately, First Reformed asks us to choose what kind of world we live in; one filled with hope or one dominated by despair. It's a profound, provocative piece of art that is as sharp as it is bleak, and it's an experience that lingers long after the credits roll.
1: Taxi Driver (1976)
Schrader’s first stab at the solitary man film remains as one of his darkest and most mesmerizing. Taxi Driver is a viscerally gripping psychological thriller that gives the viewer a deep and unflinching look into the darkest recesses of the human soul. There are times you just want to look away — and there are some moments so painful that Scorsese literally moves the camera away, as if in sympathy — but Scorsese, Schrader, and De Niro make this pitch-black story engrossing, captivating, and electric every step of the way. With gorgeously seedy cinematography from Michael Chapman, an intoxicating score from Bernard Herrmann, an unforgettable performance from De Niro, and superb direction from Scorsese, Taxi Driver is a wholly remarkable film of rare power and unique force that contains all the hallmarks that Schrader would return to time and time again, which is why it’s our favorite of his solitary man films.
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