Certain movies have explored the American dream without being total downers, including the likes ofMinariandThe Right Stuff.

This reality does become warped into something more nightmarish right near the end, too.

Thats the main thing here.

The Brutalist - poster - 2024

Image via A24

He parties, betrays, demeans, and faces little by way of repercussions.

If everyones personal American dream is warped, then America itself wouldnt be much of a dream for anyone.

The American dream continues to be dreamed, rather than lived.

Men riding motorbikes down a South US highway from Easy Rider

Image via Columbia Pictures

As such, its a no-brainer to put in the top spot, for present ranking purposes.

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Easy Rider Movie Poster

Cast Placeholder Image

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Rita and Betty in Mulholland Drive sit next to each other in a theater and look shocked.

Image via Universal Studios

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Headshot Of Laura Elena Harring

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Scarface - 1983 (3)

Image via Universal Pictures

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Ratso Rizzo and Joe Buck walking down the street in Midnight Cowboy

Image via United Artists

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Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce in The Brutalist.

Image via A24

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Jordan Belfort, standing on a boat and holding a glass of wine while the American flag waves behind him in The Wolf of Wall Street

Image via Paramount Pictures

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Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) with a dirty face and hat looking pensive in There Will Be Blood.

Image via Paramount Vantage

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A crew of young kids on the streets of New York in the 1920s in Once Upon a Time in America.

Image via Warner Bros.

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Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane standing in front of a massive poster of himself in Citizen Kane

Image via RKO Pictures

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The Brutalist

Citizen Kane

There Will Be Blood