Photo Credit: Adapted from an Image by Jonathan Kos-Read via cc
Sometimes you can look to the silver screen for a soliloquoy!
Some of these scenes contain #SPOILERS so don’t watch if you are worried about ruining a film you might enjoy at a later date.
Very often a great speech or a monologue in a movie is what really cements it in people’s minds.
Great writing, terrific direction and awesome acting sometimes come together to create movie monologues which are truly unforgettable.
Here are five of my favourite movie speeches delivered by female characters.
I am hoping that this article will be the beginning of a growing collection of movie monologues so please do get in touch with your favourites.
I am especially keen to find a more female movie monologues.
Please let me know your examples of movie monologues by getting in touch or via Twitter
Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream
“I’m somebody now, Harry.
Everybody likes me.
Soon, millions of people will see me and they’ll all like me.
I’ll tell them about you, and your father, how good he was to us. Remember?
It’s a reason to get up in the morning. It’s a reason to lose weight, to fit in the red dress. It’s a reason to smile. It makes tomorrow all right.
What have I got Harry, hmm? Why should I even make the bed, or wash the dishes? I do them, but why should I? I’m alone. Your father’s gone, you’re gone. I got no one to care for.
What have I got, Harry?
I’m lonely. I’m old.
Ah, it’s not the same. They don’t need me.
I like the way I feel.
I like thinking about the red dress and the television and you and your father.
Now when I get the sun, I smile.”
Brit Marling in Another Earth
“You know that story of the Russian cosmonaut? So, the cosmonaut, he’s the first man ever to go into space. Right? The Russians beat the Americans.
So he goes up in this big spaceship, but the only habitable part of it’s very small. So the cosmonaut’s in there, and he’s got this portal window, and he’s looking out of it, and he sees the curvature of the Earth for the first time.
I mean, the first man to ever look at the planet he’s from. And he’s lost in that moment. And all of a sudden this strange ticking begins coming out of the dashboard.
Rips out the control panel, right? Takes out his tools. Trying to find the sound, trying to stop the sound.
But he can’t find it. He can’t stop it.
It keeps going.
Few hours into this, begins to feel like torture. A few days go by with this sound, and he knows that this … small … sound…will break him. He’ll lose his mind.
What’s he gonna do? He’s up in space, alone, in a space closet. He’s got 25 days left to go… with this sound.
So the cosmonaut decides… the only way to save his sanity… is to fall in love with this sound.
So he closes his eyes… and he goes into his imagination, and then he opens them.
He doesn’t hear ticking any more. He hears music. And he spends the remainder of his time…sailing through space in total bliss… and peace.”
Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest
“No wire hangers!
What’s wire hangers doing in this closet when I told you no wire hangers?! EVER!!!!
I work till I’m half dead and I hear people say she’s getting old! What do I get ? A daughter who cares as much about a beautiful dress I give her as she cares about me.
What’s wire hangers doing in this closet?! Answer me!
I buy you beautiful dresses and you treat ’em like some dishrag! You threw a 300 dollar dress on a wire hanger!
We’ll see how many you got hidden in here, we’ll see!
All of this is coming out! Out! Out! Out! Out!
We’re gonna see how many wire hangers you got in your closet!
Wire hangers. Why? Why?
Christina, get out of that bed! Get out of that bed!
You live in the most beautiful house in Brentwood and you dont care about crease marks from wire hangers, and your room looks like some two dollar unfurnished room in some two- bit backstreet town in Oklahoma!
Get up!
Clean up this mess!
Did you scrub the bathroom floor today?
Did you?”
Sally Fields in Steel Magnolias
“Shelby was right! This IS a brown foot ball helmet!!!!
I’m fine.. I’m fine.. I’m fine.. I’m FINE!
I could jog all the way to Texas and back..but my daughter can’t!! She never could!!
Oh.. God…..I’m so mad I don’t know what to do!!
I wanna know why! I wanna know WHY Shelby’s life is over!!
I wanna HOW that baby will EVER know how wonderful his mother was.. Will he EVER know what she went THROUGH for him?
Oh God I wanna know WHY?
WHY?
Lord…I wish I could understand!
No…NO…NO!! It’s not supposed to happen this way! I’m supposed to go first!!
I’ve always been ready to go first!
I don’t think I can take this.. I.. I don’t think I can take this!
I just wanna hit somethin’! I just wanna hit somebody.. till they feel as bad as I do!! I just wanna hit something!
I wanna hit it HARD!”
Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing
“I told you I was telling the truth Daddy.
I’m sorry I lied to you.
But you lied too.
You told me everyone was alike and deserved a fair break. But you meant everyone who was like you.
You told me you wanted me to change the world, make it better. But you meant by becoming a lawyer or an economist and marrying someone from Harvard.
I’m not proud of myself, but I’m in this family too and you can’t keep giving me the silent treatment.
There are a lot of things about me that aren’t what you thought. But if you love me, you have to love all the things about me.
And I love you, and I’m sorry I let you down, I’m so sorry Daddy. But you let me down too.”
