Films and TV shows that feel like Waltz #2 (XO) by Elliott Smith
A bittersweet, weary portrait of a bruised, resigned love and a mother-son stalemate, delivered with quiet, hushed devastation and a faint wry grace.
- Good Will Hunting (1997): Smith's Oscar-nominated songs soundtrack a wounded, guarded young man learning to let someone in.
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): Dysfunctional family sadness and deadpan tenderness, with Smith's 'Needle in the Hay' as its emotional core.
- Lost in Translation (2003): Hushed late-night loneliness and unspoken connection among strangers.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): Bruised, bittersweet love and the ache of memory that won't quite fade.
- Manchester by the Sea (2016): Numb, resigned grief and strained family bonds in a cold, quiet town.
- Rushmore (1998): Late-90s melancholy wrapped in wry humor and unrequited longing.
- BoJack Horseman (2014): Self-loathing, depression and wasted tenderness behind a wry, weary surface.
- Freaks and Geeks (1999): Tender, awkward late-90s alienation and imperfect families in a fading Midwestern suburb.
