There are few movie tropes as predictable—and as predictably satisfying, when done right—as the monologue. Witty banter and repartee are nice, but it’s a singular delight to see an actor eat up the screen with a powerfully delivered, impeccably inflected speech. The folks at CineFix, with typical care and intelligence, have selected what they believe to be the 10 best such moments in movie history.
Yes, the obvious choices are here—Robin Williams’ park bench talk in Good Will Hunting, Peter Finch’s “mad as hell” rant in Network—but it’d be needlessly contrarian to omit them, and many other favorites are passed over for more subtle, idiosyncratic selections. And this is more than a mere ranking: The video sorts the movie monologue by its various manifestations (villainous boasts, courtroom speeches, inspirational pep talks, etc.), creating a taxonomy that’s just as interesting as the actual list.
