Typically operating hand-in-hand with an excellent performance, there’s something uniquely impressive about a first-rate movie monologue. Commanding the audience’s attention solely through the power of the spoken word is no mean feat even when there are multiple characters talking onscreen. As such, it’s a testament to the talent and creative excellence involved in unforgettable scenes that depict just a single person speaking.
Frequently providing an intimate window into the personality of the character in question, the lasting cultural impact of cinema’s finest monologues often transcends their parent movie to permeate wider popular culture, to the point where somebody might be familiar with excerpts from the speech in question, without actually knowing where they come from. From Jaws and its iconic quotes to Pulp Fiction’s memorable lines, the best movie monologues have a habit of lingering in the viewer’s mind long after the credits have rolled.
12
I Will Find You
Taken (2008)
The speech that established Liam Neeson as an action icon, Taken’s standing as a cult classic for the genre owes a great deal of its success to one of the most celebrated monologues in cinematic history. Endlessly parodied and imitated to this day, Bryan Mills’ foreboding warning to the men who kidnapped his daughter is the stuff of legend, coldly informing them “...I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”
Dispᴀssionately informing the human traffickers of what will happen to them should they cross him, the underlying menace in Mills’ precise tone as he talks over the telephone is made all the more ominous by the fact that he’s discussing his own kidnapped daughter. Punchy, memorable, and dripping with sinister intentions, Taken’s monologue never gets old.
11
The USS Indianapolis
Jaws (1975)
Often touted as a front-runner for Steven Spielberg’s magnum opus movie, Jaws is widely regarded as one of the legendary director’s most significant outings. As such, it should come as little surprise that the 1975 thriller also plays host to one of cinema’s most famous pieces of script-writing: Quint’s haunting recollection of the U.S.S. Indianapolis’ sinking, a real-life incident that saw large numbers of survivors picked off by sharks.
A stunning demonstration of Robert Shaw’s raw talent, the late Englishman commands the audience’s attention in a manner that few monologues have ever come close to replicating. It says a lot about Quint’s iconic speech that it’s arguably the most disquieting sequence in a movie about a man-eating great white shark, to say nothing of the fact that he’s also stinking drunk while delivering it.
10
Pearl Confesses to Mitsy
Pearl (2022)
One of Hollywood’s premiere scream queens courtesy of her roles in the X movie trilogy, Mia Goth arguably saved her finest performance to date for 2022’s Pearl. A prequel depicting the macabre origins of the eponymous character, the movie is also notorious for featuring one of recent cinema’s most unforgettable speeches; an unhinged outpouring of emotion from Pearl that sees her confess her fears, resentments, and crimes to Emma Jenkins-Purro’s Mitsy.
Despite producing a monologue that lasts for the better part of ten minutes, the audience’s attention on Pearl never falters for an instant. The most unsettling thing about Pearl’s monologue is that she seems completely unaware that she’s confessing to an array of horrific acts while professing her loneliness, a flawless demonstration of Goth’s dramatic capabilities that rarely gets the full praise it deserves.
9
Captain Koons’ Watch
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Quentin Tarantino’s consensus masterpiece, 1994’s Pulp Fiction is renowned for its exemplary script-writing. However, while much of the fanfare is typically reserved for Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic “Ezekiel 25:17” bible verse, the indie classic plays host to another exemplary monologue that arguably doesn’t get the full credit it deserves, turned in by Christopher Walken’s Captain Koons during a memorable cameo.
Addressing his fallen comrade’s son as an equal rather than a child, the pitch-perfect scene depicts The Deer Hunter star telling a young Butch Coolidge the storied history of his family heirloom, a gold watch that has been pᴀssed through three generations of his family since the First World War. Walken doesn’t break stride for an instant as he flows seamlessly through his lines, utilizing his inimitably earnest style of speaking to maximum effect to produce a knockout scene for the ages.
8
How About Another Joke, Murray?
Joker (2019)
Serving as the darkest interpretation of the Clown Prince of Crime to date, 2019’s Joker chronicles the origin story of Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-winning take on the eponymous character. Phoenix’s performance is a largely physical one, but his bitter, reference-loaded tirade on Murray Franklin’s talk show during the movie’s final act remains one of the most unforgettable cinematic monologues in recent memory.
Capturing one of the most disturbing snapsH๏τs of an unhinged individual finally pushed beyond his breaking point, Fleck launches into a nihilistic rant for the ages. Casually confessing his crimes, Phoenix’s clown-faced charge goes on to venomously blame society for creating and failing an individual like himself, placing a blockbuster exclamation point on proceedings by blowing Franklin’s head off on live television.
7
Tears In Rain
Blade Runner (1982)
Serving as a poignant flourish on one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time, Roy Batty’s dying speech in 1982’s Blade Runner is only 42 words long, but has carved out an indelible niche for itself in popular culture as one of cinema’s most celebrated examples of scriptwriting. Saving Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard from certain death as his final act, Batty leaves quite the impression on audiences with his parting words.
Invariably prompting deep introspective reflection, the replicant sadly laments how the amazing things that he has seen in his life-cycle will now be lost forever, “like tears in rain.” No matter how many times you might have heard Batty’s farewell to this life, the intensely moving nature of his final words is actually compounded by the fact that they are being uttered by somebody who isn’t actually a human being.
6
Aldo Introduces The Mission
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Iconic monologues are virtually synonymous with Quentin Tarantino’s movies at this point in proceedings, a state of affairs exemplified by Aldo “The Apache” Raine’s stirring address to his troops during the early goings of 2009’s Inglourious Basterds. Introducing himself to his new recruits, Aldo wastes no time in getting into the meat of things. They’re going to be doing one thing, and one thing only: killing Nazis.
A speech that begins with a brief history of one of Tarantino’s most colorful movie characters and concludes with his non-negotiable demands for “one hundred Nazi scalps,” Aldo’s entire speech is essentially one instantly quotable one-liner after another. Delivered in Pitt’s pitch-perfect Southern drawl for around three glorious uninterrupted minutes, Raine’s crackling address is a notable high point from one of the greatest war movies of the 21st century.
5
Aragorn’s Speech At The Black Gates
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
Home to some of the most rousing speeches that cinema has ever witnessed, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was decidedly not short on epic monologues. However, while special praise must be reserved for the likes of Théoden’s rousing battle cry before the walls of Gondor or Sam’s stirring sermon on the power of good, nothing gets the heart pounding quite like Aragorn’s fiery monologue before the Black Gates of Mordor.
Whipping up the forces of good before they embark on the final battle of the trilogy, viewers are ready to get up off the sofa and charge into the fray by the time that Viggo Mortensen’s charge has finished his thrilling speech. A crowd-pleaser of the highest variety, you’d have to be made of stone not to get goosebumps when Aragorn roars for the Men of the West to stand their ground as the enormous enemy host approaches.
4
King Kong
Training Day (2001)
Widely acclaimed by fans and critics as one of the finest crime dramas ever made, much of Training Day’s sterling reputation is due to Denzel Washington’s Oscar-winning performance as the movie’s chief villain, Alonzo Harris. Breathing life into cinema’s quintessential corrupt cop, the pinnacle of Washington’s electrifying turn comes during his immortal rant, after being betrayed during the movie’s final act.
Even after his nefarious plans are duly foiled by Ethan Hawke’s Jake Hoyt, Harris still refuses to go down quietly. Despite realizing that the jig is finally up, Washington’s charge embarks on a spectacular tantrum against the neighborhood he once terrorized, desperately boasting that even “King Kong ain’t got sнιт on me!” as the harsh reality of his situation truly sinks in.
3
I Drink Your Milkshake
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Human Oscar-magnet Daniel Day-Lewis has produced a number of unforgettable monologues over the course of a long and storied career, but arguably none more so than his thrilling rant in the final sequence of 2007’s critically acclaimed epic period drama, There Will Be Blood. Taking on the role of the morally devoid oilman, Daniel Plainview, Day-Lewis saved the best of his immortal performance for last.
Ranting and raving like a legitimate lunatic, Plainview is practically frothing at the mouth as he taunts Eli Sunday. Gleefully using a milkshake as an analogy for the law of capture to explain that he already owns the oil that Eli aspires to, Day-Lewis’ unhinged charge mercilessly mocks Paul Dano’s charge in a savage tirade for giving up his religion, before placing an exclamation point on matters by caving his skull in with a bowling pin.
