To identify yourself with a moral, principled, and generally acceptable hero is easy. But it gets more interesting when all these qualities are absent and the character in a movie is left with limited potential to impress the audience. Standing at the edge of society, disliked or just tolerated by others – this weekend‘s movie picks will be distinguished by classic film antiheroes.
Up in the Air
The life of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) could, on the one hand, meet the profile of a modern Nomad. But not everything is as fine as it seems to be. He travels from company to company to fire people. On top of it, his personal life is a combination of boring and selfish, highlighted by the very trivial life goal of flying 10 million miles and becoming a member of an elite air travelers‘ club in which just a few chosen ones can be members.
The Lord of War
Nicholas Cage in the role of Yuri Orlov, inspired by true events from the field of arms dealers. As much as one is tempted from time to time to take his side, there is always the disturbing fact that he is just one spineless crook.
Léon
As regards Léon, the decision to like him or not is less than clear. A professional killer is not your usual hero, and it doesn’t get easier when he starts teaching the trade to a 12-year-old girl Mathilda (very young Natalie Portman). On the other hand, her family was massacred by corrupt cops, which gives her a good reason to be angry and thirst for revenge. And that‘s when the neighbour called Léon comes in handy.
Thank You for Smoking
Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is not the prototype of a hero, either. As Big Tobacco’s chief spokesman, his job is to promote all forms of tobacco use. And since we are no longer living in the ‘70s or ‘80s, before smoking became directly linked with all the negative connotations of health risk, Nick’s position gets threatened from every possible angle. And the real threat comes with real blackmail.
Photo: IMDB
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