Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- wistful
- dreamy
- arthouse film night
- late night cinephile viewing
What critics said
Critics found the film imaginative, visually striking, and well acted, while divided over its incoherent free-form narrative and unsatisfying resolution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Scottish impersonator community and the nuns' skydiving storyline unfold as distinct but thematically linked threads.
Michael, Marilyn, Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple, and others build communal lives around celebrity personas.
Critics specifically praised Korine's richly colored, wide-frame compositions across the commune and Paris material.
The impersonators form an unconventional commune whose shared fantasy provides belonging but cannot guarantee permanence.
Films like Mister Lonely, and why
Being John Malkovich
shared surreal character study, outsider community, melancholy humor, and theatrical identity play
The King of Comedy
shared eccentric ensemble, heightened comic drama, and emotionally precarious outsiders constructing alternate identities
Holy Motors
shared free-form art-film structure, self-invented personas, and bittersweet attention to marginal communities
The Lobster
shared offbeat communal fantasy, deadpan absurdity, and fragile outsiders seeking belonging
Movie Details
- Director
- Harmony Korine
- Release Date
- 2008-02-02
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (145)
Cast
- Diego Luna
- Samantha Morton
- Denis Lavant
- James Fox
- Werner Herzog
- Leos Carax
- Richard Strange
- Jason Pennycooke
- Anita Pallenberg
- Rachel Anna Simon
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mister Lonely about?
- A lonely Michael Jackson impersonator finds precarious belonging among celebrity doubles in Harmony Korine’s surreal, tenderly unsettling commune fable.
- What is Mister Lonely like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mister Lonely as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mister Lonely violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Mister Lonely.
- What did critics think of Mister Lonely?
- Critics found the film imaginative, visually striking, and well acted, while divided over its incoherent free-form narrative and unsatisfying resolution.
- Which films are like Mister Lonely?
- Films with a similar feel include Being John Malkovich, The King of Comedy, Holy Motors, and The Lobster.
- How long is Mister Lonely?
- Mister Lonely runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mister Lonely?
- In United States, Mister Lonely streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel.
