Work sucks! Let’s watch a movie about it!
Movies have long reflected the complexities of human existence—love, loss, ambition, rebellion. But they revisit one space with growing frequency and insight: the workplace.
People spend one-third of their lives (40-55 hours) at their workplaces, and our work lives directly impact our health and emotional well-being. Unsurprisingly, the cubicle, the corner office, and even the Zoom screen have become fertile ground for storytelling. Whether it’s the tyrannical boss in designer heels or the underdog sales rep with a heart of gold, workplace films capture the silent churn of capitalism, the quiet despair of layoffs, and the moral compromises people make between 9 and 5.
Movies worldwide have explored corporate evils, workplace pressures, and their consequences on people and cultures for quite some time now. And especially in a post-recession, post-pandemic world, these cinematic portrayals hit even closer to home.
Let’s punch in and explore five films that mirrored our professional anxieties and gave us characters to root for, cry with, and sometimes fear a little.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) – USA
The Devil Wears Prada is not just a film—it’s a cultural landmark. Released in 2006, it arrived at a time when hustle culture was still glamorized, and women in power were either feared or fetishized. The story follows Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a fresh journalism graduate who lands a coveted assistant role at the fictional Runway magazine, only to realize her job is more high-stress than high fashion.
Enter Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep, in a career-defining role)—a character so commanding, she could reduce interns to tears with a lift of her eyebrow. But The Devil Wears Prada’s genius lies in balancing caricature with commentary. Beneath the glossy surface of couture and catwalks is a brutal critique of toxic professionalism, gendered double standards, and the soul-sapping nature of ‘fitting in.’
At the time, the film’s release coincided with growing conversations around work-life balance and the sacrifices women make to ‘have it all.’ It was a box office hit and has since become a workplace film staple, quoted as much for its fashion as its ferocity. (“Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”)
Trivia tidbit: Meryl Streep based Miranda’s steely demeanor partly on Clint Eastwood. Yes, the Man with No Name inspired the Woman with No Time.
Tokyo Sonata (2008) – Japan
Few films dissect the quiet humiliation of job loss like Tokyo Sonata. Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the film is a haunting portrait of a middle-class Tokyo family unraveling after the patriarch, Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa), loses his job due to outsourcing. Unable to admit his failure, he pretends to go to work each day, descending further into isolation and deception. In the process, he also helps another out-of-work friend. However, things don’t go as planned, and his relationship with his wife Megumi (Kyoko Koizumi) and his kids is severely affected.
Released in the shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis, Tokyo Sonata resonated deeply with viewers worldwide facing economic instability. But even beyond its context, the film is a poignant commentary on how rigid societal expectations—especially around masculinity and work—can dismantle a family from the inside out.
This is not an explosive drama; it’s a movie about quiet breakdowns, unspoken grief, and the emotional weight of pretending everything is fine.
Trivia tidbit: Despite being known for horror, Kurosawa’s slow-burning drama won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes—because real-life horror sometimes wears a suit and tie.
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009) – India
Released in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, Rocket Singh was years ahead of its time. Starring Ranbir Kapoor as Harpreet Singh Bedi—a fresh-faced commerce graduate with unimpressive grades but a strong moral compass—the film explores how one honest man tries to build a company rooted in integrity, not manipulation.
Harpreet Singh Bedi trusts his interpersonal and people skills. Unlike others on his team, he sticks around because he is deeply interested in sales. He soon finds out that the corporate rut is quite different, so he will have to forge a different path—his path.
At a time when India was embracing globalization and corporate culture was surging, Rocket Singh dared to critique the system. It called out workplace harassment, unethical sales practices, and the marginalization of “low performers.” But it did so with heart, humor, and a likable protagonist that you want to buy what he’s selling, whether or not you need it.
Initially underrated, the film has gained cult status recently, especially as India’s startup ecosystem has exploded. Harpreet’s quiet, scrappy, and idealistic entrepreneurial journey feels more relevant than ever.
Trivia tidbit: Ranbir’s look in the film was so radically unglamorous that some fans initially didn’t recognize him. The film is one of his personal favorites.
Up In The Air (2009) – USA
What if your job were firing people? And what if you were really good at it? Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air takes that ethically murky premise and turns it into a meditation on human connection in an increasingly disconnected world.
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert addicted to frequent-flyer miles and allergic to commitment. However, when a young tech-savvy colleague (Anna Kendrick) proposes doing layoffs via Zoom (before it was the norm), Ryan starts questioning the meaning of his rootless, emotionally sterile life.
Released at the peak of the 2008 recession, the film hit a nerve. It opened with real people recounting their own layoff stories, blurring the line between fiction and reality. Unlike other films on the list, Up In The Air is a hopeful, positive film that highlights the human aspect of breaking bad news to people, such as layoffs. And while the premise is grim, the film brims with empathy, suggesting that how we treat people in their lowest moments defines us more than any job title ever could.
While detached in his private life, Ryan understands the importance of empathy and lends an emotional ear to the people getting fired. However, he, too, begins to question his rootless, nomadic existence and his estrangement from his family. He also realizes the risk of losing his job and being rendered obsolete as technology takes over human jobs.
The film is a poignant, reflective look at job insecurity, technological interference, and the dangers of being extremely impersonal as tech takes over workplaces. The interviews with real-life people who lost their jobs are the icing on the cake, reaffirming the need for empathy and humanity in our workplaces, particularly during economic crises.
Trivia tidbit: Clooney’s airline loyalty obsession wasn’t just a plot device. The film subtly critiques the absurdities of late-stage capitalism, where your self-worth might be measured in loyalty points.
Zwigato (2022) – India
In a gig economy, who’s gigging whom? Nandita Das’s Zwigato offers a rare and moving look at India’s delivery workers—those invisible engines of urban convenience. Kapil Sharma, shedding his comedic persona, plays Manas, a factory worker laid off during the pandemic, who was forced to join a food delivery app.
What follows is a sobering glimpse into algorithmic exploitation. With ratings, unreachable targets, and no real human support, Manas struggles to keep his job, let alone his dignity. His wife Pratima, played masterfully by Shahana Goswami, seeks her economic agency, upending the household’s traditional dynamics.
She, too, encounters hurdles as people prefer hiring masseuses and cleaners via apps instead of trusting word-of-mouth. The film offers a hopeful ending as Manas and Pratima acknowledge and accept their fate and struggle to find joy in their circumstances.
Zwigato doesn’t sermonize; it observes. Shot entirely in Bhubaneswar, the film uses real locations and real problems to build its quietly heartbreaking world. Released post-COVID, when India’s gig economy was booming but its workers had no safety net, the film landed promptly. The harmful side effects of delivery workers have been a trending topic for quite some time. With no policies and frameworks to protect such delivery app workers, they are often vulnerable to exploitation by customers and the companies they work for.
In India, many gated societies have a separate elevator for delivery personnel. Customer misbehavior over delayed deliveries and return of food parcels is common and leads to poor ratings, ultimately leading to job dismissal. Zwigato, while admitting that there are no solutions to address the grievances of gig workers, lends an empathetic ear to people like Manas and their families.
Trivia tidbit: The film features iconic locations in Bhubaneswar, bringing small-town India to the forefront of a global labor conversation, one delivery at a time.
So the next time your boss emails you at midnight or your app rating mysteriously drops, pop on one of these films. If nothing else, they’ll remind you: you’re not alone in feeling the burn. Just remember—somewhere out there, someone’s already made a movie about it.
Watching Rocket Singh on a work break might inspire your next big pitch. Watching The Devil Wears Prada might make you reconsider your boss’s passive-aggressive emails. Either way, cinema, much like capitalism, never sleeps.
List Courtesy of Neha Jha
Feature Image Credit to Paramount Pictures; Still from ‘Up in the Air’ (2009)