Minority Report: A Movie Viewed from Its Dark Side

written by Jonatan Dimeo 16713097

Everybody loves a hero, but nobody ever forgets a villain. Whether he (or she) is an evil genius, violent criminal, or a cunning killer, a movie is just not complete without the presence of a truly evil villain. Some movies can’t be separated from its villains because, simply, they are too impressive. They possess a real charisma to charm the audience, and sometimes, they are the most impressive character we find on the screen.

What qualities make a really good villain? They must possess both brain and brawns. Brawn without brain leads to a laughable character, like Bale in Batman and Robin, in a stark contrast to Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Whereas brain without brawn creates a cunning enemy without him (or her) posing a real threat when confronted one on one, just like Palpatine in Star Wars, whom Darth Vader easily overpowers. Add a little bit eccentricity, or insanity, any word you prefer, a villain would theoretically be perfect. Now, the big question is, which villain perfectly mixed these essential qualities and thus makes an epic movie?

Two names pop up in my mind. The first is Hannibal Lecter in Silence of The Lamb. Portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, this Hannibal perfectly straddles the line between good and evil, blurring the line in progress. He scares us from the first moment he appeared, inside a prison. His lunatic behavior came out when he was transferred to another prison eating one of the police officer’s nose, and subsequently make his escape. Hopkins surely wouldn’t won his Oscar if this character is not that special, considering his time on screen is just a few seconds over 16 minutes. Practically, this fact makes Silence of the Lamb a film about Hannibal himself, instead of the main protagonist, Clarice Sterling.

The second one is The Joker. While Hannibal still has a good side, Joker is clearly losing all his good virtues. In the film, Alfred once said, “some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn”. This statement pretty much sums up what kind of villain The Joker is. He changed Harvey Dent, the white knight, the once people’s hero, to Two Face, a wicked sick murderer. He set the police force on a chaos. He nearly exploded two ships full of people. But the most villainous moment was when he lied, exchanging Rachel and Dent’s location when giving directions to Batman, resulting in Rachel’s death. Never have we found a superhero, suffer so much before he could defeat his enemy, and when finally he knocked Ledger’s Joker out, he has lost everything including his own love interest. Truly, the Dark Knight couldn’t be more noir if it weren’t for The Joker’s presence.

In conclusion, a tense, intriguing movie couldn’t be made without an ingenious villain. While the hero remains the vocal point, the thrill or the buzz we felt when we watch a movie is often the result of a mesmerizing actions from the villain. Next time you watch a movie, remember it’s not the hero that drives the story, it’s the villain.