Hi S32,
The question says it all,
I have 2 to mention:
1- Character of Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas (1995). The relationship between the character and his flaw and the way he deals with it is - in my opinion - quite astonishing. He somehow makes peace with his negative attribute in a unique way.
2- Character of Michael Fassbender in Shame (2011). Although he recognizes his flaw, it seems he cannot get the courage to overcome it, so he could be considered as a failure, yet the audience empathizes with him.
who is/are your fave characters and why?
Take care,
Shahin
Such a great question! In features I will give you my top 3: Indiana Jones, Captain Jack Sparrow, Hannibal Lecter. And in television Cullen Bohannon from AMC's "Hell on Wheels", Jimmy McNulty from "The Wire", and while I don't particularly "like" him, Don Draper is a hell of a character.
Hm. I love the way you're talking about the character and his relationship with his flaw. I'd say one would be the little girl in Little Miss Sunshine. Her flaw is her unending simplistic joie de vivre even in the face of setbacks. The tension it causes in the audience, because we're always waiting for the shit to hit the fan and her to break down, and that never happens, has a deep impact on us subconsciously, because it forces us to face our own anxiety-making behaviour. My second would have to be Prince in Purple Rain. His flaw is His own wild nature and it's also his greatest gift. That raw dualism -the pain and pleasure so linked in the human experience - has never been so exquisitely displayed on screen before or since. Its more cathartic for the audience than Little Miss, although in a way these characters are similar in their extreme-ness. They do what they do to the extreme, there's little to no ambiguity about their way of being in the world. In that way their movies don't necessarily follow the typical 'hero's journey ' because they don't change, per se, they just learn to love and flaunt their 'flaw'.
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Thanks, Jason and Sarah (I love Little Miss Sunshine!). Would you like to tell us why you like those characters, Jason?
I thought you would never ask ;) I find myself - like most people - drawn to the contradictions in characters and the grey area of their personalities. The characters I mentioned all have great strengths of character - but also tremendous flaws that they are constantly battling (or in some cases relishing in). And they are all tackled with such nuance in the writing. Even Captain Jack, while outlandishly played by Johnny Depp, is actually written so subtly in his choices, point of view, and resulting actions.
Would I be "friends" in real life with any of these characters? Probably not. And I am definitely not going to Dr. Lecter's dinner parties. But they are so complete and well-rounded that they could exist in real life.
In TV, Mickey Donovan from "Ray Donovan". He's likable when not despicable.
In movies, James Stewart in anything. I favor the reluctant hero.
Thanks Jason and Dash
In the last few years the most interesting "bad guy" for me was Kilgrave from Jessica Jones (helped by the brilliant performance of David Tennant). He's one of those villains where you peel off layer after layer until you can understand why he became that way.
Good choice Kris!