6. Lost in Translation (2003)
Lost in Translation has to be one of the more peculiar entries on the list if only because, as the film races towards its brilliant climax, there is the feeling that, if he wanted, the guy
could have got the girl. Sofia Coppola's film has Bill Murray playing Bob Harris, an aging American actor, and likely a more despondent, deadpan version of himself. He is in Japan filming a whisky commercial, when one night he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a young woman who is also alone in Tokyo while her husband John (Giovanni Ribisi) darts about the city filming models. With Bob's own loveless marriage, the two form a connection that begins as a friendship, but given the intense time-frame and shared weirdness of culture shock, their bond grows into something more... Things get difficult once Bob goes home with a vocalist at his hotel, and when Charlotte knocks at his door the next morning to go for breakfast, sees the woman in his bed. It creates a certain tension that can only suggest romantic feelings, and the two make it clear in a latter conversation how they will deeply miss one another. At the hotel on the morning of his departure back to the U.S., he says an emotional goodbye and watches her return to her room, but fate appears to intervene during Bob's limousine ride to the airport. He notices Charlotte on the street, jumps out of his limo, runs to her, and whispers something - which the audience does not hear, though which has been speculated ever since - into her ear, before the two kiss and Bob again leaves. It's as unconventional as romantic match-ups get, and Coppola does well to completely defy the expected stance; one can't help but wonder whether Bob could have taken advantage of the emotional intensity of the situation, but perhaps being aware of their age gap and the extremely unlikely prospect of a relationship working, decides to walk away, leaving him with the memory of a strong connection over these brief few days. Of course, he could have whispered to her his state-side address or phone number, who knows, but we doubt Coppola would be that literal. This is a case of the protagonist deciding for himself not to get the girl; there is seemingly no intervening force or event.