What about Gene Hackman's turn as Royal Tenenbaum?
There is a wealth of rotten fools who've charmed their
way into the sympathies of film goers.
matthew
--- Claire Simmons <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
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I am currently collecting research for an article I
shall be writing about 'Sympathetic Deviants'. That
is, when a spectator forms an allegiance or
sympathises with a character who is immoral or
'perverse' when the norm would be to side against the
character. My main example of such a character would
be Bill Maplewood (played by Dylan Baker) in
'Happiness' (dir Todd Solondz, 1998).
I would welcome examples of similar characters in
other films as well as suggestions of related reading.
So far, I am finding Murray Smith's book, 'Engaging
Characters - Film, Emotion & the Cinema' (Oxford:
Clarendon Press 1995) to be particularly relevent. I
would also be interested to hear any personal opinions
of such characters in cinema and your emotional
response to them. For example, during the final
'father-son' scene in which Bill confesses to his son
makes me feel horrifically sad rather than plain
horrified. I have found myself questioning my own
sympathetic reaction to a character who I should
instead usually perceive as a 'monster'.
It's early days still and so at this stage I would be
most grateful for any contributions.
Regards, Claire Simmons
[log in to unmask]
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