*Some spoilers below*
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Leonardo DiCaprios character really came into focus after a rewatch.
Drive[b[/b]? The same with Goslings character. And Taxidriver, with Robert De Nero.
Inherent Vice, «Bigfoot» Bjornsen is a character that i thought was funny from day one. But after last last viewing, i thought he maby have some good values and soft spots, under an ultra hateful fasade.
The last film i have had this sort of feeling was
Miller’s Crossing. I dont remember first time i saw it, but i have always liked the style. But even so, i have not exactly felt Gabriel Byrnes character has been anything out of the ordinary interesting.
What really caught my focus the last time i saw it, was the relationship between Gabriel Byrne ( Tom Reagan) and Albert Finney ( Leo O’Bannon) in the film. This all boils down to the scene where O’Bannon hits Tom Reagan in the face, from his office, down to the lobby.
It was all the aspects of Tom Reagans behaviour and decisions surrounding why he got beaten up by O’Bannon.
Tom Reagan is the clever one in this story, he plays both sides up against each other, and keeps his head cool, even thoogh he sometimes seem to be in over his head. But that is not really why i had this revelation toward his persona in the film.
It had to do with me getting a deeper feeling of his values. Because he is O’Bannons right hand, and has known him for many years.
But he also has an affair with his girlfriend, Verna Bernbaum. So he is a snake who plays people to his advantage, has an affair with his boss/friend, and knows O’Bannon will react with some measure if he finds out he is meeting Verna on the side.
Of course the moment comes when Tom can help out his boss, with a clearification on the facts in a storyline. But to do this he will be forced to reveal his relationship with Verna.
During the film he is seemingly a cold and calculated person, doing what will suit him best. But when push comes to show, he has some core values that he follows. Rules that he do not break.
And why does Tom Reagan have such respect for his boss, O’Bannon. He would not have gone the extra mile for him, if he had not respected him. O’Bannon early on knows that Johnny Caspar has plans to kill Bernie Bernbaum (John Turtorro). And even though Tom many times tries to advice him from it, O’Bannon decides to keep him under his protection. He would avoid many big problems, if he just let Caspar have B. Bernbaum.
Maby an obvious, simple set up from the Coen Brothers, but for me, it takes some time to catch on these details.
Since i just saw Inherent Vice again tonight:
In the film Inherent Vice, Bjornsen (Brolin) really dislikes Sportello. He hates that he is a hippie, a dope head, he even gives Sportello a solid beating.
But at the end of the day, he does give Sportello a break. Partially because of his core values, and partially because he deep down knows Sportello has done some decent things along the way. This of course is never said out loud.
I wrote a little extra, but that is because i have been thinking about this topic from time to time.
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