The Underground Man In Contemporary Cinema
‘The Underground Man’ is the central character in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1864 novella Notes From The Underground, who describes himself in the opening lines of the novella as a “sick man”, “a spiteful man”, and “an unattractive man” (Dostoevsky 5). The character of ‘The Underground Man’ and the themes he represents are not only present in other Dostoevsky works, such as The Double and The Idiot, but have also heavily influenced characters and themes in worldwide contemporary cinema, notably works by filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Matteo Garrone, and Paul Schrader, amongst many others.
The Defining Characteristics Of 'The Underground Man'
The Underground Man is a 40-year old man living in a “wretched, horrid” room in the big city of St. Petersburg (Dostoevsky 6). He resembles qualities of an antihero, and is a lonely, self-loathing character who has irrational and destructive tendencies, leading him to feel and be isolated from society. The Underground Man writes his thoughts in a diary, and describes himself to be, amongst other things, “an intelligent man” (Dostoevsky 14), while also stating that “an intelligent man cannot become anything” in modern society (Dostoevsky 6). He is a “man of consciousness” rather than a “man of action”, which he deeply desires to be, but rejects the idea of a world built on rationality forming a Utopia, firmly believing that one needs consciousness in order to have free-will. Throughout the novella, he struggles to characterise himself properly, and frequently revisits the way he sees himself; from instances of egoistic individualism where he proclaims his own intelligence, to statements of self-pity as he laments his low social-standing and isolation (Swensen 278). His rumination has trapped him in a contradictory hell. The themes present in the character of ‘The Underground Man’ include existentialism, idealism, isolation, attempted salvation, and the ideas of a Utopian society, themes which many filmmakers have explored in their works.
Films Influenced By 'The Underground Man'
Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese): The closest cinematic parallel to The Underground Man, Travis's loneliness and search for meaning in the non-Utopian metropolis of New York City is a direct parallel to The Underground Man's existential reflections in the metropolis of St. Petersburg (Swensen 270). Travis writes in a diary, with the film unravelling from his POV, and his interaction with Iris, an underage sex worker who has fled to New York City, addresses the complicated themes of salvation and of 'finding oneself', a mirror to The Underground Man's internal journey and his interaction with Liza (Swensen 275-276). Unlike The Underground Man, Travis becomes a "man of action", and his attempt to rescue Iris from her life of prostitution (despite her stating she didn't need to be rescued) can be seen as his attempt at finding purpose and salvation to his life (Swensen 278-280), whereas The Underground Man used Liza, who arguably wanted to be 'rescued' more than Iris, as a figure to inflate his ego and perceived social status. The defining influence is visible in the character-defining line spoken by Travis as he drives through a buzzing New York City. Where The Underground Man describes himself as "A sick man", "a spiteful man" and "an unattractive man" (Dostoevsky 5), Travis Bickle calls himself "God's Lonely Man."
Marcello from Dogman (Matteo Garrone): The parallels between The Underground Man’s one-sided conflict with the police officer in Notes From The Underground, and Marcello's desire to gain the respect of Simone, through violence, are very clear. Marcello is also a character who is isolated, self-loathing while simultaneously portraying himself as self-confident, and is a character who spends the whole film trying to characterise himself and ‘find himself’, much like The Underground Man.
Ernst Toller from First Reformed (Paul Schrader): Reverend Toller writes in a diary just like The Underground Man, and discusses extensively his lack of belief that a Utopian society can exist. However, where The Underground Man discusses the need for religious faith in the (then) modern society, Reverend Toller questions faith’s role in modern society, while still sharing emotions of anxiety and self-doubt of The Underground Man. He ultimately remains a "man of consciousness".
Cop 223 from Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai): A heartbroken man who waits one whole month for the girl who broke up with him to tell him it was “just an April fool’s prank” (Wong), the themes of idealism and the destruction of the imagined ‘Utopian’ world that The Underground Man talks about are reflected in the journey that Cop 223 undergoes in this film. While he himself does not fit the character trope of an ‘underground man’, the disappointment and agony caused by his idealism is a mirror to the journey that The Underground Man undergoes in Notes From The Underground.
Nitram from Nitram (Justin Kurzel): Nitram, an idealistic young man who fits into the definition of a “man of consciousness”, loses his innocence upon realising that the world isn’t the Utopia he imagined it to be, due to social rejection and isolation. He experiences similar torturous ruminations akin to The Underground Man, however; unlike The Underground Man, Nitram channels his self-loathe, spite, and loneliness into an act of absolute violence, thereby becoming a “Man of action”, which The Underground Man did not become.
Works Cited
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Notes from the Underground. Translated by Jane Kentish, Oxford University Press, 2008.
Eternalised. “The Underground Man – Fyodor Dostoevsky's Warning to the World .” Eternalised Official, 28 Nov. 2021, https://eternalisedofficial.com/2021/11/27/the-underground-man-dostoevsky/.
Garrone, Matteo, director. Dogman. 01 Distribution, 2018.
Images, Welcome. “Steel Engraving: Crystal Palace, 1851 Exhibition Wellcome L0023919.Jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steel_engraving;_Crystal_Palace,_1851_exhibition_Wellcome_L0023919.jpg.
Kurzel, Justin, director. Nitram. Madman Fillms, 2021.
Schrader, Paul, director. First Reformed. A24, 2018.
Scorsese, Martin, director. Taxi Driver. Columbia Pictures, 1976.
Springer, John. “Travis Bickle Checks out His Revolver in the Movie Taxi Driver.” Getty Images, https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/travis-bickle-checks-out-his-revolver-in-the-movie-taxi-news-photo/526904288?language=fr.
Swensen, Andrew J. “The Anguish of God's Lonely Men.” Renascence, vol. 53, no. 4, 2001, pp. 267–286., https://doi.org/10.5840/renascence20015348.
Wong, Kar-Wai, director. Chungking Express. Ocean Shores Video, 1994.