The American dream purports that everyone has a chance at making a great life for themselves when they're in America, be they citizens or people who travel to the United States seeking some kind of ideal life. To believe in it is to be a rather optimistic person, and indeed, some in America find what they're after. Certain movies have explored the American dream without being total downers, including the likes of Minari and The Right Stuff.
But the American dream can also just be a dream for some; something unattainable or, at the very least, incredibly difficult to grasp in some sort of tangible sense. Plenty of darker films explore the darker side of this topic, sometimes by showing characters who strive for the American dream but tragically ruin their lives in the process, or by telling stories revolving around people who might end up more in some kind of American nightmare.
10
'Easy Rider' (1969)
Directed by Dennis Hopper
Image via Columbia Pictures
A quintessential New Hollywood film that basically defined that whole movement (or came pretty damn close), Easy Rider follows two men as they go on a journey across America in search of… something. It’s not so much a road movie where there’s a specific destination in mind, but the two lead characters are after some kind of feeling or experience, and keep on moving until it’s in reach.
Maybe it’s just about how certain people can’t find a dreamlike way of being in America, or it’s about how the times change before you can realize it sometimes, or maybe it’s a warning about not being listless and wandering. Easy Rider leaves things up to the viewer, which isn't too surprising when it’s fairly hard to define a “story” here in the traditional sense, but few takeaways from it are going to fall on the positive/sunny side of things.
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Release Date
May 7, 1969
Director
Dennis Hopper
Runtime
95 minutes
Main Genre
Drama
9
'Mulholland Drive' (2001)
Directed by David Lynch
Image via Universal Studios
When Mulholland Drive begins, it is indeed quite dreamy, following a few different people and storylines, sure, but the central one involves a young, ambitious, and optimistic actress arriving in Hollywood, hoping to make a name for herself. She perseveres while the world around her occasionally reveals darker qualities, but then, at a point, things do shift drastically.
What was once a dream starts to feel more like a nightmare, with perhaps the best reading of Mulholland Drive being something along the lines of this: the first two-thirds of the film was largely a fantasy, and the final act reflects more of a brief reality. This reality does become warped into something more nightmarish right near the end, too. And that could all sound like spoiling things, but this is David Lynch being talked about here, so commentary of that nature is hardly scratching the surface!
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Release Date
October 19, 2001
Director
David Lynch
Runtime
147 minutes
8
'Scarface' (1983)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Image via Universal Pictures
If you're looking for a movie where someone clearly tries to obtain the American dream and then fails in perhaps the most obvious way possible, look no further than Scarface (1983). Well, truth be told, the original version from 1932 also has this story told in a similar way, but the 1980s version makes it all the more bombastic and in-your-face, following one violent and relentless man as he gains almost everything and then loses it all.
Scarface drives home this idea of the American dream gone mad, with the protagonist seeing the message “The World is Yours” on a blimp at one pivotal point, and then seemingly taking it literally. That’s the main thing here. For a movie about someone coming to America, trying to get it all, briefly having it all, and then losing absolutely everything… that is Scarface, in a nutshell.
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Release Date
December 9, 1983
Runtime
170 minutes
7
'Midnight Cowboy' (1969)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Image via United Artists
There was something in the water during 1969, or perhaps people just liked their depressing-as-hell movies in America at the time, because Midnight Cowboy explores the American dream in a comparable way to the aforementioned Easy Rider (1969). Hell, both movies even revolve around two men who seem disconnected from society, even while they stay strong in their goals, and both films end rather bleakly.
With Midnight Cowboy, it’s mostly about a male prostitute hoping to find a way to earn money in a big city, finding that’s easier said than done, with only a sickly swindler for company, and someone to share his dream with. It’s an incredibly well-made film, and one that’s acted well enough to hold up genuinely well to this day, but an optimistic portrayal of the so-called land of opportunity, it is not.
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Midnight Cowboy
Release Date
May 25, 1969
Director
John Schlesinger
Runtime
113 Minutes
Main Genre
Drama
6
'The Brutalist' (2024)
Directed by Brady Corbet
Image via A24
When one thinks of great epic movies, one might be most tempted to think of films from decades past; those that David Lean directed, for example. But movies with epic runtimes still get made, and still find some level of critical acclaim, as The Brutalist has demonstrated quite well. It was one of the most praised movies of 2024, standing as a rather brilliant and (likely) timeless exploration of pursuing the American dream, seen from an immigrant’s perspective.
Moving slowly and always focusing on drama over thrills or action, The Brutalist is about an architect trying to rebuild his life in America, but finding certain things about the way of life there to be immensely difficult. It is a dark, sometimes harrowing, and heavy-hitting film, but the challenging nature of the film alongside its undeniably lengthy runtime helps ensure it’ll leave a mark on any who choose to watch it.
Jordan Belfort is the central figure of The Wolf of Wall Street, with the film being a long, sometimes funny, and often despairing look at how one man became so wealthy – through immoral and illegal means – that he could basically get away with anything. He parties, betrays, demeans, and faces little by way of repercussions. If anything, what he did leads to more success in his life, with the ending suggesting many want to be just like him.
So, The Wolf of Wall Street does show someone potentially achieving their own idea of what the American dream is, but the film ultimately questions whether such a dream should be seen as desirable. Things might work out for Belfort, but the ramifications of a society where everyone wants to be Belfort… that’s what The Wolf of Wall Street wants you to think about. If everyone’s personal American dream is warped, then America itself wouldn’t be much of a dream for anyone.
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Release Date
December 25, 2013
Runtime
180 Minutes
4
'There Will Be Blood' (2007)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Image via Paramount Vantage
There Will Be Blood tells a very simple story for a movie that runs for well over two and a half hours. It follows a ruthless oil prospector who sees an opportunity to amass an immense fortune, and so he sets out to buy a huge amount of land and achieve his twisted dream, owning oil reserves in every direction to the point where he has a personal fortune he’s never able to spend.
His appetite is ceaseless, and therein lies his downfall. He doesn’t lose it all or die by the film’s end, but at a point, he simply runs out of things to obtain, and There Will Be Blood suggests that his life loses purpose as a result, leading to a bold, cold, darkly funny, and highly memorable final sequence. Like with The Wolf of Wall Street, the lead character gets what they want, technically, but it’s just never quite enough. The American dream continues to be dreamed, rather than lived.
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Release Date
December 26, 2007
Director
Paul Thomas Anderson
Runtime
158 minutes
3
'Once Upon a Time in America' (1984)
Directed by Sergio Leone
Image via Warner Bros.
Standing as one of the most impressive gangster epics ever made, Once Upon a Time in America manages to do a lot throughout its runtime… as it should, considering that runtime is almost four hours in total. Parts of it function like a coming-of-age film (of sorts), much of it focuses on a gang’s exploits during the Prohibition era, and then other scenes take place decades on from said era, exploring aging, regret, nostalgia, and loneliness.
Robert De Niro plays one of his vilest characters here, as the central gangster who’s (potentially) the most ruthless and cunning of his gang, but he also feels human, despite the terrible things he does. He’s another lead character who doesn’t know when to stop, and that’s the main way Once Upon a Time in America critiques the idea of the American dream. A group of characters want it all, even if it means betraying and abusing people close to them, with ceaseless appetites leading to either death or, perhaps more tragically, a long life spent grappling with regret for decades, all the way until old age.
It’s Romeo and Juliet, but in America during the 1950s, with two street gangs in conflict instead of two warring families. West Side Story has two groups of people trying to find their way in 20th century America, though the inability to unite because of their shared experiences – and instead get into conflict over superficial differences – leads to heartbreak, despair, and death. It’s a well-told tragedy that spells things out pretty clearly, not exactly inspiring, but serving as an effective warning against prejudice and conflict of an ultimately needless nature.
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West Side Story
Release Date
December 13, 1961
Director
Robert Wise
, Jerome Robbins
Cast
Natalie Wood
, Richard Beymer
, Russ Tamblyn
, Rita Moreno
, George Chakiris
Runtime
151 Minutes
1
'Citizen Kane' (1941)
Directed by Orson Welles
Image via RKO Pictures
It’s kind of boring to call Citizen Kane one of the best movies ever made, but still, Citizen Kane is one of the best movies ever made. It’s timeless in its very American story of greed, ambition, and isolation, following the life of one man – told through a series of flashbacks – as he strives to build an empire and amass a fortune, all the while finding that genuine connection with family, friends, and co-workers eludes him.
Though not a horror movie (outside one cheeky proto-jump scare), Citizen Kane nonetheless has a certain haunting quality; a psychological uneasiness that lingers and proves difficult to shake. It gets to the core of someone with a twisted and unquenchable thirst for a kind of American dream, all the while being one of the greatest American films ever made. As such, it’s a no-brainer to put in the top spot, for present ranking purposes.
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Release Date
April 17, 1941
CastOrson Welles
, Joseph Cotten
, Dorothy Comingore
, Agnes Moorehead
, Ruth Warrick
, Ray Collins
Image via A24
Image via Columbia Pictures
Image via Universal Studios
Image via Universal Pictures
Image via United Artists
Image via A24
Image via Paramount Pictures
Image via Paramount Vantage
Image via Warner Bros.
Image via RKO Pictures
English (US) ·