pursuit of goals

His films obsessively explore characters driven by ambition and the moral cost of relentless goal-pursuit, from Travis Bickle to Jordan Belfort.

He depicts protagonists consumed by singular obsessions and goals that ultimately destroy them, as seen in The Wrestler, Black Swan, and Requiem for a Dream.

Her films examine characters navigating survival and dignity through modest but determined personal goals within systemic constraints, exemplified in Nomadland and The Eternal Memory.