Attending a movie alone: why is movie viewing considered somehow off-limits to the solitary individual? Why should this activity, which is arguably the most sacred and solitary form of art viewing, be treated as if it must be done in pairs or groups? Of course, as the paramount dating activity, a movie is treated as an event more than a strict exercise in spectatorship, and so the idea of seeing a film alone would be seen to run counter to the experience qua experience. After all, isn’t part of the fun of seeing film talking about it afterward? Surely this is true; but at the same time, when I’m by myself at the end of a film, and I hear couples around me turning to one another to exchange opinions about the usual elements of plot, cinematography, acting, etc., I find myself smiling and thinking: yes, these ideas are all bouncing around in my head too, and yes, admittedly, I feel a bit sorry for myself for not having someone to share them with in this moment ripe for commentary. But in being alone with my thoughts I process the viewing experience through a more intensely personal lens that would be possible in company. Characters, bits of dialogue, locations all resonate with me in infinitely more subtle ways than I would be capable of expressing (or, to do so would effectively kill these associations). Approaching film as a solitary, serious and ultimately melancholy experience, a time for deep absorption and contemplation rather than entertainment and socializing, seems to me to be (at least sometimes) a satisfying trade-off.