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Memorable Movie ScoundrelsFilm Villains so Vile You Pray The Protagonist Defeats Them
The lure of a good movie is sometimes found in the antagonist. Just the right chemistry of a particular actor and script creates attractive, loathsome characters.
A great story wouldn't be great without the nemesis consistently blocking the hero or heroine's path. Here's a few. Doses of Pure EvilThe first to come to mind, the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton, Wizard of Oz, 1939). Her green face, piercing voice and long green fingers are not easy to forget as she lights Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) on fire. Drunk with power and the pursuit of Roman authority/status, handsome, intelligent, Messala (Stephen Boyd, Ben-Hur, 1959), betrays the bonds of friendship with Judah Ben-Hur. As a Roman official he sentences Judah's innocent, Jewish family to almost certain death behind the confines of slave ships and prison for a crime they did not commit. Creepy, sinister, cannabalistic Hannibal Lecter, (Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs,1991). Who would want to live next door to him? His affection (if it can be called that for Clarise--Jodie Foster) is equally sickening. He was voted the number one villian in the American Film Institute Survey. Nauseatingly sweet on the outside, generally dressed in pink, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), new teacher for the dark arts class of the recent Harry Potter ( Daniel Radcliffe,Order of the Phoenix film 2007), possesses a level of cruelty that equals the Wicked Witch of the West. Behind her fake smile lies a malicious heart. You know you deserve to be punished, she remarks to Harry (she refuses to believe he's witnessed the return of evil wizard, Voldemort). She gives him a pen to write his disciplinary lines, I will not tell lies. As Harry writes the words on paper, the same lines are painfully, mysteriously scratched onto the back of his hand. More Subtle ExamplesFanny Ferras Dashwood (Harriet Walter, Sense and Sensibility, 1995), loves her husbad's money and the social status it provides for her. She resents the idea of her husband giving his half-sisters any kind of inheritance after their father's death. Of course she's not straightorward in verbalizing hr sentiments. She cunningly talks him out of all sums but the most minimal amount. He's clueless. Her performance drips poison. Caroline Bingley (Kelly Reilly, Pride and Prejudice, 2005),holds the Bennet family in such distain and contempt that she initially thwarts her brother's (Mr. Bingley--Simon Woods) desire to marry Jane Bennet (Rosamund Pike). In so doing she increases the tension between the key characters Lizzie (Keira Knightly) and Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfayden). She's another poison dripper. Definition of a VillianThe American Film Institute defines a villain as: a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked. They can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny, but are ultimately tragic. The Allure of a VillainPerhaps the allure lies in wondering how the villain became so morally rotten to begin with. Perhaps, because the villain creates situations that enable the hero/heroine to dazzle, and the often life or death struggles between them just create an absorbing, entertaining story. Finally, perhaps the villain is a subconscious, psychological kickback to the insidious snake from the Garden of Eden. And your favorite villains are?
The copyright of the article Memorable Movie Scoundrels in Film Dramas is owned by Jeannie Delahunt. Permission to republish Memorable Movie Scoundrels in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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