Midnight Cowboy (1969)'s activity

There have been many movies that have used a similar plot. That of a relative nobody working his way up using unscrupulous means and finding success for a while before it all coming crashing down at the end of the movie. This one doesn't actually fall into that trap though as there isn't a clear upward trajectory of either character throughout the film and ultimately the ending is bleak with neither character actually accomplishing what they wanted. It's sobering but also a great way to tell the story that didn't fall into cliche.