In this film there is a variety of very different, interesting characters including:
Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin) - This character is a very strange. He finds all violence funny and the very thought of himself being caught makes him laugh. An example of this is when they are in jail under suspicion of stealing a truck full of weapons and McManus just laughs about it as if he knows he is not going to be caught in anything he does.
Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro) - This character is very different to the others because he is very flamboyant and spontaneous, nobody knows much about him other than that he has a strong accent and a lisp and also the fact that he wears suits. This shows that he is unpredictable.
Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) - He seems to be the leader of the group, you get the idea that he is a good guy gone bad because of his past of being a cop. However, all the way through you suspect that Dean Keaton is Keyser Soze. When you find out it is not him you then suspect that he is a good guy turned bad, turned good again because he is trying all the way through to make a break so he can be with his wife a live a normal life. Lastly he was always the man with the plan and always knew exactly what he was going to do next, this suggests that he is intelligent. The fact that you realise he is not a bad guy makes him more likable because you realise he is trying to be good again.
Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint (Kevin Spacey) - He seems to be a very trusting character that could never have done anything to hurt or annoy anybody. He seems so innocent and declares his very believable story to the police. However it is not until the end of the film you realise he is not what he seems and that the whole time he was pretending to be innocent and confused, although he was a genius. The whole concept of his character is reversed into this genius suddenly as he plays his way out of the police station and to freedom. The audience realises he was the one the police had been looking for the whole time, this is proof that he was not afraid of getting caught becaue of his self confidence.
Officer Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) - This person is a very arrogant and strict police officer. He always thinks that he has worked it out and never doubts himself, he knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. This is shown by the way he treats the other police officers, he thinks he has more authority than the others for example when he sends the other police officer out of the interview with Roger 'Verbal' Kint. Even though he is arrogant and unliked by the audience he is the good guy because he is trying to enforce the law on a very dangerous subject. The way that he questions Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint leads us to believe that he doesn't think he could possibly be Keyser Soze. However, at the end of the film we find out that he had the man he was looking for in his office and by looking at the board behind him he finds out that Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint was playing him the whole time. This shows that he is an over confident police officer that criminals get the better of.
Se7en
Se7en has three main characters and one lesser character who has a big part to play in the story.
Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) - In this film Somerset is professional, he is the veteran detective. Somerset is leading Mills throughout the film and giving him hints and tips as if he is teaching him how to be the best. He has no family life and is tired of being a detective, in the film he agrees to do one last investigation. The 'one last job' is often used in films to create a sense of suspention because the audience don't know whether they will make it out of the criminal world. He is a very independent person who always knows what he is looking for and what he wants. It may have been the fact that he was independent and had no family life that made him such a good detective.
Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) - He is a normal character in this film, he has a normal life, a wife, an apartment and a job. When he meets Detective Somerset he's always trying to prove himself, to him to show that he is also a good detective. However, he does try and learn from him along the way. Although he has a normal life it does not mix with his job and in the end it is used against him. This shows his naivety. The fact that there is a classic veteran and rookie character means that they can show each other their lifestyles. Somerset teaches Mills not to be naive and that he should expect the worst from everyone because of the awful sights he has seen throughout his life. However, Mills shows Somerset that there is sometimes a silver lining and that life isnt as bad as first thought. An example of this is when Mills' wife invites him round for dinner.
John Doe (Kevin Spacey) - This character is an evil genius because he always knows what he is doing and thinks that his plan would never fail. He is never afraid of anything, you can tell this by how calm he is when he gives himself up to the police and when he is in the car with the detectives. However, his intentions are not to be evil because he believes he is doing God's work. This is why each of his murders are linked to the 7 deadly sins.
Tracey Mills (Gywneth Paltrow) - She is a very beautiful character who is in love with her husband (Detective Mills) and lives a very normal life. She represents good and innocents. She is strong willed, we know this because she invited her husband's partner (Detective Somerset) round for dinner and doesn't listen to what her husband has to say about it. However, she is vulnerable and gets into trouble. She turns out to be a key part of the film in a 'damsel in distress' role.
Rear Window
L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) - He is a slightly arrogant character at the start of the film, however we may only get this impression because he is frustrated due to his broken leg and him having to change his lifestyle because of it. He has to learn to become dependant because he is in wheelchair. He was previously an independent professional. Throughout the film he learns to care for other people and become dependant on them. For example, he sends his girlfriend and his housekeeper over to see the murderer's apartment. The actions of his girlfriend and her bravery change Jeffries' mind about her. This is similar to 'Se7en' in which Detective Somerset becomes softened by another character.
Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) - She tries to prove herself to Jeffries throughout the film because he told her that he wasn't sure it was going to work out between them. She is beautiful and loves Jeffries. She gets into danger whilst trying to prove herself to him and he finds out how much he cares for her whilst she is in danger. She compares to Detective Mills and Tracey Mills in 'Se7en'.
Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) - Seems to be a normal character however, Jeffries is sure he killed his wife. Jeffries was right, Thorwald had the motivation to kill but the action is still extreme and he ends up being caught.
Silence of the Lambs
Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) - He is a very clever character who is also a psychopath. He tries to get into people's heads and carefully plans things in advance so he knows what his next move is going to be. He never panics and always makes Clarice believe he is on her side. He is very different to other villains because he is very upfront and open about who he is unlike other characters such as Roger 'Verbal' Kint's in 'The Usual Suspects'.
Leon
Leon (Jean Reno) - This character is a very strong willed character however he has a soft side to him. He is a veteran and professional killer who learns to love a girl as if she's his own daughter. He begins to teach this girl how to kill as she requests but realises that it is no life to live and in the end saves her so she can live a normal life. This character can be compared with Detective Somerset in 'Se7en' and L.B. Jeffries in 'Rear Window' because they are both teaching another character their skills and at the same time learning from them.
Mathilda (Natalie Portman) - She is a very young character who believes she is grown up. She tries to be mature and act like an adult however glimpses of her childishness come through such as during the scene where she dresses up with Leon. She thinks she knows what love is and she repeatedly tells Leon that she loves him, however, he does not say it back in the same way. The reason for her wanting to be a killer was to get revenge on the people who killed her family but at the end of the film Leon avenges them for her. She is comparable to Lisa Fremont in that she learns to become more daring but also contains her vunrability.
Stansfield (Gary Oldman) - He is a corrupt cop who is crazy, he has he own gang and gets away with all his violent actions due to this. He is the killer of Mathilda's family and he knows that the she is still alive. He gets crazed on drugs, taking one capsule before each of his murders to give him the confidence to do it. He dresses in a lightly coloured suit and he cares about his appearance, this makes him look like a respectable cop which throws the audience off when the see the juxtaposition with his violent nature. He is also somebody that is not what you think.
These kinds of stock characters in thrillers are:
- A corrupt cop
- Somebody who's not who you think they are
- A veteran
- A rookie
No comments:
Post a Comment