personal ambition

His films obsessively explore the corrosive effects of personal ambition and the moral compromises required to achieve it, from *Taxi Driver* to *The Wolf of Wall Street*.

He dissects the psychological toll of relentless ambition through psychological thrillers like *Black Swan* and *The Wrestler*, showing how obsession destroys the self.

His surreal films critique ambition and social climbing through darkly absurdist narratives, particularly in works like *The Killing of a Sacred Deer* and *Poor Things*.