BAD GUY AS MAIN CHARACTER
We recently completed a screenplay, Distraction, where the main character is a street thief and pickpocket. I believe it’s the only story, novel or screenplay that I’ve worked on where a bad person (criminal or otherwise) has been the main character. Okay, the arc forced Hannah Logan to reconsider her life and make a move toward redemption but she’s a thief. I enjoyed the experience and the ending is one I truly like.
The other day I walked over to my DVD library and looked to see how many films I had where the bad guy or guys were the focus. Here’s what I found:
THE GODFATHER
Cool movie. Period. Terrific characters and quotable dialogue. Michael’s rise in the family business is worth watching and rewatching. A top ten movie of many lists and justifiably so.
THE WILD BUNCH
A personal favorite. An outlaw gang is their last ride down in revolution-torn Mexico. Complex and fascinating characters. Moral debates. Hardboiled and violent. I can’t recall a single “good” person in the entire story.
COOL HAND LUKE
Southern prison movie with one of Paul Newman’s best performances. The religious symbolism seems a bit heavy-handed now. Didn’t notice it at all when I was younger. But I can watch this movie again and again. “What if have here is failure to communicate.”
BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID
A fun movie. Well-written and terrific dialogue by William Goldman. Newman and Redford are cool. Katherine Ross has never been lovelier. They are the exact opposite of the The Wild Bunch outlaws. These guys you'd like to ride with.
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES
This movie isn’t on any top ten list. It was one of the ‘30s films that Warner Brothers used to grind out by the week. But I just plain like it. Cagney and Bogart as gangsters and Pat O’Brien as Cagney’s boyhood friend who became a priest. Love the ending.
BONNIE & CLYDE
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are smart people but in this tale you believe they are dumb punks who think they’re slick bank robbers. The real stand-out however is Gene Hackman as Clyde’s brother Buck. This was his breakout role. You believe the movie producers hired a dumb-as-dirt, two-bit crook for the part.
UNFORGIVEN
Eastwood, Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris. What a male cast. Hardboiled, violent, well-done. This isn’t your grandpa’s western
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
A bad man attempts to change but his past catches up with him. You’ll either love this film or hate it. Ed Harris is memorable as one of the big-city villains who is after the anti-hero.
ENTRAPMENT
Not a classic by any means but only Cary Grant can be a cooler thief than Sean Connery. Add Catherine Zeta-Jones to the mix and I’m hooked.
THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR
This is the remake. Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Fun and sexy.
GET SHORTY
One of the few films adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel to get it right. I’m not a big John Travolta fan but his Chili Palmer (who is a mob loan shark) seems to fit right in with the Hollywood crowd. Add Hackman, Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, and a before-The-Sopranos James Gandolfini and you have a terrific film.
The other day I walked over to my DVD library and looked to see how many films I had where the bad guy or guys were the focus. Here’s what I found:
THE GODFATHER
Cool movie. Period. Terrific characters and quotable dialogue. Michael’s rise in the family business is worth watching and rewatching. A top ten movie of many lists and justifiably so.
THE WILD BUNCH
A personal favorite. An outlaw gang is their last ride down in revolution-torn Mexico. Complex and fascinating characters. Moral debates. Hardboiled and violent. I can’t recall a single “good” person in the entire story.
COOL HAND LUKE
Southern prison movie with one of Paul Newman’s best performances. The religious symbolism seems a bit heavy-handed now. Didn’t notice it at all when I was younger. But I can watch this movie again and again. “What if have here is failure to communicate.”
BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID
A fun movie. Well-written and terrific dialogue by William Goldman. Newman and Redford are cool. Katherine Ross has never been lovelier. They are the exact opposite of the The Wild Bunch outlaws. These guys you'd like to ride with.
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES
This movie isn’t on any top ten list. It was one of the ‘30s films that Warner Brothers used to grind out by the week. But I just plain like it. Cagney and Bogart as gangsters and Pat O’Brien as Cagney’s boyhood friend who became a priest. Love the ending.
BONNIE & CLYDE
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are smart people but in this tale you believe they are dumb punks who think they’re slick bank robbers. The real stand-out however is Gene Hackman as Clyde’s brother Buck. This was his breakout role. You believe the movie producers hired a dumb-as-dirt, two-bit crook for the part.
UNFORGIVEN
Eastwood, Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris. What a male cast. Hardboiled, violent, well-done. This isn’t your grandpa’s western
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
A bad man attempts to change but his past catches up with him. You’ll either love this film or hate it. Ed Harris is memorable as one of the big-city villains who is after the anti-hero.
ENTRAPMENT
Not a classic by any means but only Cary Grant can be a cooler thief than Sean Connery. Add Catherine Zeta-Jones to the mix and I’m hooked.
THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR
This is the remake. Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Fun and sexy.
GET SHORTY
One of the few films adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel to get it right. I’m not a big John Travolta fan but his Chili Palmer (who is a mob loan shark) seems to fit right in with the Hollywood crowd. Add Hackman, Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, and a before-The-Sopranos James Gandolfini and you have a terrific film.
Okay, now back to working on a story where the main character is a good guy.
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