History Film / MisterLonely

* {{Deconstruction}}: The film ends up deconstructing the concept of [[CelebrityImpersonator Celebrity Impersonation]] to an extent, mostly of the existential heights the concept implies. The characters are wrapped in the pursuit of [[IJustWantToBeSpecial trying to be people larger than their normal, unsatisfied lives]] (in this case, celebrities) and even go so far as to abandon their true identities... [[CrapsaccharineWorld but it crumbles]] because despite their efforts, they are ''not'' the famous people they want to replicate, and thus [[WeAllDieSomeday the insecurities of their real lives continue to linger]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The ending for the main plot. Marilyn commits suicide, and forces Michael to fully confront his fear of death and dissatisfaction with the life he's chosen for himself. He chooses to leave the convent ''and'' his celebrity impersonation job altogether, with the implication that he's finally deciding to live a life that's actually within his grasp: his own.]]

''Mister Lonely'' is a 2007 Independent Drama written and directed by Creator/HarmonyKorine. A (comparatively) straightforward outing for the [[LeFilmArtistique notoriously]] [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible opaque]] filmmaker, it tells the story of a lonely Music/MichaelJackson impersonator (Creator/DiegoLuna) living in Paris. Confused, adrift, and terrified of death, he happens to meet the acquaintance of a cheery, idealistic Creator/MarilynMonroe impersonator (Creator/SamanthaMorton), who invites him back to her castle in the Scottish Highlands, where she and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits whole clan of celebrity impersonators]] live in peace and [[IncrediblyLamePun harmony]]...mostly.

Meanwhile, a Priest (Played by Korine-regular Creator/WernerHerzog) and a handful of Nuns operating in an unnamed BananaRepublic discover a peculiarity that just may be DivineIntervention.

* BittersweetEnding:

* CharlieChaplinShoutOut: One of the main impersonators is dressed up like Chaplin, and is married to Marilyn. [[{{Jerkass}} He's
* CrapsaccharineWorld: The Highlands Commune.

* LighterAndSofter: Compared to Korine's previous work, and ESPECIALLY compared to the subsequent ''Trash Humpers''.

* WeAllDieSomeday: A major theme of the film. At the beginning Michael is performing at a Retirement Home, telling them all that they can live forever if they really believe they can, as if trying to convince himself. Later all the Impersonators react with such horror at the prospect of their entire flock of sheep having to be put down, it's likely it reminds them of their own mortality. [[spoiler: And finally, Marilyn's suicide eventually forces Michael to deal with his fear of death head-on, allowing him to overcome it.]]

* CelebrityImpersonator: Most of the cast, discounting the side-movie with the Nuns. Other than Michael and Marilyn, includes: Creator/CharlieChaplin (Denis Lavant), Music/{{Madonna}} (Melita Morgan), Literature/LittleRedRidingHood (Rachel Korine), UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln (Richard Strange), Creator/ShirleyTemple (Esme Creed-Miles), and others. Harmony Korine was inspired by the "Obsessive Nature" of Celebrity Impersonators.
* CharlieChaplinShoutOut: One of the impersonators is dressed up like Chaplin.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Marilyn. One of the more shocking examples of the trope, as there's absolutely no warning.]]

* GenkiGirl: Marilyn. [[spoiler: This is a carefully constructed pose.]]

* NoNameGiven / OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: None of the impersonators ever reveal their given names. It's almost as if they've abandoned them.
* OddballInTheSeries: In addition to sporting very few of Korine's usual quirks, it's his only film not set in the United States or dealing with "The American Landscape", as he calls it.

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: Marilyn hanging from a tree.]]

''Mister Lonely'' is a 2007 Independent Drama written and directed by Creator/HarmonyKorine. A (comparatively) straightforward outing for the [[LeFilmArtistique notoriously]] [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible opaque]] filmmaker, it tells the story of a lonely Music/MichaelJackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris. Confused, adrift, and terrified of death, he happens to meet the acquaintance of a cheery, idealistic Creator/MarilynMonroe impersonator (Samantha Morton), who invites him back to her castle in the Scottish Highlands, where she and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits whole clan of celebrity impersonators]] live in peace and [[IncrediblyLamePun harmony]]...mostly.

* CreatorBreakdown: Korine: "I'd been making movies since I was virtually a kid, and it had always come very easily. At a certain point after [[Film/JulienDonkeyBoy the last movie]], I started to have this general disconnect from things. I was really miserable with where I was. I began to lose sight of things and people started to become more and more distant. I was burnt out, movies were what I always loved in life and I started to not care. I went deeper and deeper into a dark place and to be honest movies were the last thing I was thinking about - I didn't know if I was going to be alive. My dream was to evaporate. I was unhealthy. Whatever happened during that time, and I won't go into the details, maybe it was something I needed to go through." ''Mister Lonely'' has been said to be his working through all that.

* BestialityIsDepraved: [[Series/TheLittleRascals Buckwheat]] seems malignly obsessed with chickens...

Boasting Korine's largest budget yet, and the first of his movies to feature his wife, Rachel Korine, ''Mister Lonely'' bears little resemblance to anything else in the Writer-Director's filmography. [[TrashHumpers Where he would go next, however...]]

''Mister Lonely'' is a 2007 Independent Drama written and directed by Creator/HarmonyKorine. A (comparatively) straightforward outing for the [[LeFilmArtistique notoriously]] [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible opaque]] filmmaker, it tells the story of a lonely Music/MichaelJackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris. Confused, adrift, and terrified of death, he happens to meet the acquaintance of a cheery, idealistic Creator/MarilynMonroe Impersonator (Samantha Morton), who invites him back to her castle in the Scottish Highlands, where she and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits whole clan of Celebrity Impersonators]] live in peace and [[IncrediblyLamePun harmony]]...mostly.

* WeAllDieSomeday: A major theme of the film. At the beginning Michael is performing at a Retirement Home, telling them all that they can live forever if they really believe they can, as if trying to convince himself. Later all the Impersonators react with such horror at the prospect of their entire flock of sheep having to be put down, it's likely it reminds them of their own mortality. [[spoiler: And finally Marilyn's suicide finally forces Michael to deal with his fear of death head-on, allowing him to overcome it.]]

* [[ToAbsentFriends To Soon-To-Be Absent Friends]]: "And so, tonight, my friends, I propose that [[DrowningMySorrows we should get drunk]] on behalf of our fallen comrades in the pastures, who's lives shall soon cease". Bear in mind they are, in fact, [[SeriousBusiness talking about their sheep]].

* HopeSpot: All are depressed after the near-disasterous Show, and then they all start to [[ThatRemindsMeOfASong burst into song]] with "Cheek to Cheek". [[spoiler: ...And then they find Marilyn's body.]]

* FourLinesAllWaiting: Unusual in that there's only two parallel storylines, but the A-Plot involving the Celebrity Impersonator commune and the B-Plot involving the Skydiving Nuns are cut-between so evenly there's a bit of waiting for both of them.

''Mister Lonely'' is a 2007 Independent Drama written and directed by Creator/HarmonyKorine. A (comparatively) straightforward outing for the [[LeFilmArtistique notoriously]] [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible opaque]] filmmaker, it tells the story of a lonely Music/MichaelJackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris. Confused, adrift, and terrified of death, he happens to meet the acquaintance of a cheery, idealistic Creator/MarilynMonroe Impersonator (Samantha Morton), who invites him back to her castle in the Scottish Highlands, where she and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits whole clan of Celebrity Impersonators]] live in peace and [[IncrediblyLamePun harmony.]]

''Mister Lonely'' is a 2007 Independent Drama written and directed by Creator/HarmonyKorine. A (comparatively) straightforward outing for the [[LeFilmArtistique notoriously]] [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible opaque]] filmmaker, it tells the story of a lonely Music/MichaelJackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris. Confused, adrift, and terrified of death, he happens to meet the acquaintance of a cheery, idealistic Creator/MarilynMonroe Impersonator (Samantha Morton), who invites him back to her castle in the Scottish Highlands, where she and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits whole clan of Celebrity Impersonators]] live in peace and [[IncrediblyLamePun harmony]].

* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: Marilyn. One of the more shocking examples of the trope, as there's absolutely no warning.]]

* [[spoiler: TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Marilyn.]]
* UglyGuyHotWife: Charlie and Marilyn.

* ShoutOut: Unusually for Korine, after the show there is a single shot of the camera spinning around the bitter and annoyed Impersonators that is obviously an homage to ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''. Also, RogerEbert says that there is a shot of a plane taking off "which you will have to be very, very familiar" with the filmography of Werner Herzog to notice.

''Mister Lonely'' is a 2007 Independent Drama written and directed by Creator/HarmonyKorine. A (comparatively) straightforward outing for the [[LeFilmArtistique notoriously]] [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible opaque]] filmmaker, it tells the story of a lonely MichaelJackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris. Confused, adrift, and terrified of death, he happens to meet the acquaintance of a cheery, idealistic MarilynMonroe Impersonator (Samantha Morton), who invites him back to her castle in the Scottish Highlands, where she and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits whole clan of Celebrity Impersonators]] live in peace and [[IncrediblyLamePun harmony]].

* BestialityIsDepraved: [[TheLittleRascals Buckwheat]] seems malignly obsessed with chickens...

* CelebrityImpersonator: Most of the cast, discounting the side-movie with the Nuns. Other than Michael and Marilyn, includes: Creator/CharlieChaplin (Denis Lavant), {{Madonna}} (Melita Morgan), Literature/LittleRedRidingHood (Rachel Korine), UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln (Richard Strange), ShirleyTemple (Esme Creed-Miles), and others. Harmony Korine was inspired by the "Obsessive Nature" of Celebrity Impersonators.

* ShoutOut: Unusually for Korine, after the show there is a single shot of the camera spinning around the bitter and annoyed Impersonators that is obviously an homage to ''ThisIsSpinalTap''. Also, RogerEbert says that there is a shot of a plane taking off "which you will have to be very, very familiar" with the filmography of Werner Herzog to notice.

* TitleCard: All of Michael's episodes are titled after a particular MichaelJackson song ("Man in the Mirror", "Thriller", etc.)

* CelebrityImpersonator: Most of the cast, discounting the side-movie with the Nuns. Other than Michael and Marilyn, includes: Creator/CharlieChaplin (Denis Lavant), {{Madonna}} (Melita Morgan), Literature/LittleRedRidingHood (Rachel Korine), AbrahamLincoln (Richard Strange), ShirleyTemple (Esme Creed-Miles), and others. Harmony Korine was inspired by the "Obsessive Nature" of Celebrity Impersonators.

* [[spoiler: DeathByIrony: After all those times jumping out of planes without a parachute, it's a plane crash that kills all the Nuns.]]

* ShoutOut: Unusually for Korine, after the show there is a single shot of the camera spinning around the bitter and annoyed Impersonators that is obviously an homage to ''ThisIsSpinalTap''. Also, RogerEbert says that there is a shot of a plane taking off "which you will have to be very, very familiar with the director's work to footnote."

* CelebrityImpersonator: Most of the cast, discounting the side-movie with the Nuns. Other than Michael and Marilyn, includes: Creator/CharlieChaplin (Denis Lavant), {{Madonna}} (Melita Morgan), LittleRedRidingHood (Rachel Korine), AbrahamLincoln (Richard Strange), ShirleyTemple (Esme Creed-Miles), and others. Harmony Korine was inspired by the "Obsessive Nature" of Celebrity Impersonators.

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Michael's recorded "Dear World and Everyone In It" monologue.