Ever watch someone in a movie do something that made you think, “did he really just do that?” Well, it happens a lot, but because said someone is usually the film’s main character and we want them to win, we let stuff like catastrophic destruction or murder – you know, the little things – slide.
With that said, that doesn’t make what they do right, and the following is a list of 7 movie characters whose choices could be interpreted as either a positive or a negative act. Keep in mind, what we’re looking for here are not necessarily all antiheroes, and that in a lot of these cases, we’re not suggesting that we’re ignorant of the emotional circumstances that prompted the protagonist’s actions. We’re simply playing the devil’s advocate.
The kind of characters that will be featured on this list are protagonists that, for the most part, want to do good, or do justice, but take measures into their own hands. That means that people like Leon from The Professional, or the Driver from Drive do not count, as what they do (getaway cars and bounty hunting) is rather malicious.
Before we begin, here are some honorable mentions
Oskar Schindler – Schindler’s List
Detective Mills – Seven
Adam Pontipee – Seven Brides for Seven Brides
The Man with No Name – The Dollars Trilogy
Holly Golightly – Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Butch Coolidge – Pulp Fiction
The Stranger – High Plains Drifter
Daniel Plainview – There Will Be Blood