10 Great Movies Without an Actual Protagonist

Regardless of whether they are noble heroes, complicated antiheroes, or even despicable villains, most movies tend to unfold while following one character’s journey, exploring the obstacles they and their allies must overcome in order to be successful in their grand goal. While this simple premise can be depicted in countless different ways, there have also been plenty of movies that have rejected the idea completely.

Eschewing the need for one key protagonist, these films have found fascinating and creative ways to subvert the traditional method with which cinematic narratives unfold. Ranging from heavily stylized and sporadic anthology films to enormous ensembles that use their array of stars to explore set themes from many different angles, these pictures prove that a protagonist is merely optional.

10 ‘Slacker’ (1990)

Directed by Richard Linklater

Three years before he became a global sensation with Dazed and Confused, Richard Linklater made his overlooked debut with Slacker, a picture he directed, wrote, produced, and featured in. Like Dazed and Confused, it fixes its focus firmly on the aimlessness of youth, while also containing insights of societal issues as seen through a revolving door of characters, ranging from eccentric conspiracy theorists to thieves and their would-be victims.

The film eschews any need for a main character through its sprawling nature, keeping up with one character only long enough to give a glimpse of their most apparent thoughts and perspectives before the story ricochets off them and onto somebody else. Infused with a grounded comedy and a snapshot of early 90s everyman philosophy, Slacker is a winding exploration of society realized through outlandish characters and profound personalities.

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9 ‘Kinds of Kindness’ (2024)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most evocative and stirring filmmakers of the modern day, one who is no stranger to tackling thematically confronting ideas in intriguing yet enigmatic ways. Hot off the back of his Oscar-winning success with Poor Things, the Greek director released Kinds of Kindness, a bewildering absurdist anthology film containing three pronounced and very loosely connected stories, all of which contain the same core cast.

The triptych nature of the story and the juggling of the actors in different roles ensures the film never attaches itself to just one character, instead opting to examine the human condition through a litany of perspectives. Nestled beneath the surface of the intense violence on display is a series of hilarious yet acidic bites at humanity, a cacophony of indictments on inner demons laid bare in the most visceral way possible. Naturally, it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but Kinds of Kindness does use its characters in fascinating ways.

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8 ‘The French Dispatch’ (2021)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Unwieldy and whimsical even as far as Wes Anderson movies go, The French Dispatch runs as an alluring anthology film that flaunts the filmmaker’s trademark visual flair and comedic inflection. The death of a magazine editor brings about the last ever publication of ‘The French Dispatch’, an issue that covers several tales of art, rebellion, authority, and passion, with the whole film serving as a loving tribute to the intersection of journalism and artistic expression.

Its anthology, episodic approach to the narrative sees The French Dispatch gleefully relinquish the opportunity to follow just one character in favor of enabling multiple stories—even within each contained narrative chapter—to unfold. This decision is bolstered by the incredible ensemble cast, making The French Dispatch a wondrous array of human moments and connections that, in the eyes of some, makes for Anderson’s best ever film.

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7 ‘Gosford Park’ (2001)

Directed by Robert Altman

The third last film in the career of famed American filmmaker Robert Altman, Gosford Park is a wonderfully sharp social satire that mixes the class divide between the English aristocracy of the 1930s with an intriguing whodunnit mystery. Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) is a wealthy baron who, along with his family, organizes a shooting weekend for a large group of friends and acquaintances. However, when he is killed during the vacation, all the hidden family drama begins to pour out as investigators gather information from guests and their servants.

While the premise is familiar, the film’s approach prioritizes character over intricate plotting, ensuring every member of the ensemble cast is granted ample time to make an impact. Its lack of a central main character makes the film’s thematic focus on class disparity all the more pointed, with everyone being presented at face value, and their lies and secrets unwinding in the same fashion.

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6 ‘Cloud Atlas’ (2012)

Directed by Lily & Lana Wachowski

Audacious, epic, and wonderfully sprawling, Cloud Atlas takes a basis on David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same name to present a spellbinding tale of a soul’s journey across time. An underappreciated picture from the Wachowskis, its stories span from an American lawyer awaiting passage from the Chatham Islands in 1849 through to a post-apocalyptic future where survivors must live in fear of cannibalistic tribes that roam free while those in an off-world society begin to succumb to a new plague.

The film has six interweaving stories in total, with each one featuring the same star-studded cast members though juggling the order of who is playing what role, from heroes and villains to meaningful side characters. The end result is a dazzling actors showpiece immersed in a visually spectacular time-jumping narrative that remains surprisingly clear despite the ambition and enormity imposed upon it courtesy of its vast story and its multiple focal characters.

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5 ‘Nashville’ (1975)

Directed by Robert Altman

Another defining triumph from Robert Altman, Nashville offers a contemporary and quite comical exploration of celebrity stardom, political ambition, and how the two concepts intersect. Set in the titular city, it follows an array of personalities entrenched in the country and gospel music scene in the build-up to a gala event for an unlikely, populist candidate aspiring to get on the presidential ticket for the Replacement Party.

With an enormous runtime of 160 minutes, the music dramedy wafts over its core characters, with the picture featuring a staggering 24 central figures, all of whom are explored in exceptional depth. Its range of focuses presents a fascinating juxtaposition, a contradictory quality that defies easy closure and masterfully uses its enormous cast to continuously expand on its themes rather than find final standings concerning them.

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4 ‘Love Actually’ (2003)

Directed by Richard Curtis

A rom-com romp that has become a wholesome Christmas classic in the years since its release, Love Actually unfolds throughout the festive season, following nine interwoven tales of love with each one containing its own complexity and charm. Be it a widower struggling to care for his stepson, a writer who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper, a married man caught cheating on his wife, or even the Prime Minister nurturing a protective love for a staffer, Love Actually is stuffed with sugary sweetness.

Another thing it is is a true ensemble film, with its coverage of all nine of its stories ensuring that no one actor dominates the overall story even as all of them are given plenty of time to excel. While it contained too many stories for some, Love Actually has become a widely adored classic of romantic cinema that flaunts the trademark talents of Richard Curtis at their gooey and gorgeous best.

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3 ‘Dunkirk’ (2017)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s pivot to war cinema marks a technical masterpiece of film-making as well as a remarkably bold piece of visual storytelling. Dunkirk follows several tales tied to the evacuation of 400,000 English troops from the shores of Dunkirk as the Germans descend upon them from the air and land. A soldier tries to find safe passage off the beach as a commander struggles to oversee the evacuation. Civilians sail across the channel to aid in the evacuation effort, while a small force of aces defend their comrades from aerial attacks.

While the film has some marquee characters, it spreads its story wide enough to avoid making any one of them a distinct focus. Juggling different perspectives of the war and of Operation Dynamo also imbued the relatively short feature with a grandiose scale. Granted, the film may not relish exploring the depths of its characters, but it does present a pulsating and harrowing display of war that uses its sparseness to terrific effect.

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2 ‘Magnolia’ (1999)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

An ambitious epic of complex people whose chaotic lives overlap in the city of L.A., Magnolia is often heralded as being a divine, defining masterpiece from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. The multiplicity of the sprawling 188-minute film is one of its most compelling features, with every single one of its central characters being realized with sensational depth, be they a boy genius, an ailing game show host, a controversial motivational speaker, or a love-struck police officer.

While Tom Cruise’s portrayal of the misogynistic televangelist marks a particularly attention-snatching performance, the entire ensemble is given time to flesh out their characters and relish in their flaws and weaknesses. It makes Magnolia a captivating meditation on angst, regression, and forgiveness in modern society, with the array of characters imbuing the film with a rich nuance in its exploration of such themes.

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1 ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

A pulsating crime odyssey that transpires out of chronological order while following several figures in L.A.’s underworld, Pulp Fiction is an ultra-violent medley of character intrigue and overlapping stories that thrives with its style, thrills, and knack for black comedy. Among the major players in the Quentin Tarantino masterpiece are two hitmen, the wife of a crime lord, a boxer who fails to throw a rigged bout, and a couple of small-time thieves planning on robbing a diner.

The unique and stylized progression of the film gives it an enrapturing tempo, as does the dialogue, the bursts of violence, and the litany of stars on display, but it is arguably the vast range of significant characters that best defines its effervescence. It makes for enticing viewing as the story covers the characters’ clashes and engagements, often in heart-pounding fashion, making Pulp Fiction one of the greatest crime movies of all time, as well as the best picture not to feature a traditional protagonist-driven story.

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