2 Talk About

Bad Guys

Like many no doubt Christmas was a time for relaxation, indulgence and of course a chance to melt into your favourite seat and watch a few films be they DVD stocking fillers or terrestrial TV offerings.One such moment for me was Scorcese's Cape Fear (1991) starring Robert De Niro as the maniacal Max Cady. Cady is a formidable piece of work combining a hulking physique illustrated by a plethora of menacing Tattoo's with a deceptive intelligence, vocalised by a primitive sounding southern drawl. Beneath the surface is a walking contridiction of a man who is part violent sociopath and cunning criminal mind with a little bit of religious fanaticism thrown in for good measure too.

So I started to think of some of my all time favourite bad guys, such as recently you had the late Heather Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in the Dark Knight (2008) where the charismatic and the chaotic become one.  Or Lee Van Cleef's devilish Angel Eyes from the iconic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966),

So the question is who are your most vivid movie villains? Here are the two I am bringing to the table.

1. Frank Booth 
Dennis Hopper  
Blue Velvet (1986) 


The late great Dennis Hopper will no doubt be remembered for many roles throughout his career, but arguably his finest on screen moment was in detailing the ferocious complexities of Frank Booth in David Lynch's conflicted classic Blue Velvet (1986). Hopper was if anything an intense on screen presence and in Booth it will never be more evident, whether it's his bizarre sexual behaviours or seemingly uncontrollable, unabated appetite for violent confrontation Booth is an intimidating puzzle that few would want to put together.
Hopper's however attempts to in performance which is both daring and extreme, portraying violent misogyny, substance abuse and wall to wall psychopathy, key to the films polarisation of it's audience but at the same time to it's striking impact. Director David Lynch had offered the role to other big name actors who no doubt recoiled at the thought of taking on the task, not Hopper however who after reading the script simply exhorted.... 
"You have to let me play Frank! Because I am Frank!" 

2. Anton Chigurh
Javier Bardem  
No Country for Old Men (2007)

Ostensively calling a coin toss or checking into a hotel room would have no reason to cause alarm or panic. Yet the modus operandi of Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007) somehow manages to. Armed with a Cattlegun, a fateful coin and an unstoppable sense of purpose Javier Bardem is trailing the plains of West Texas to distribute his own form of accountability . Ruthless and relentless, poised and precise Chigurh has all the qualities of a real life Terminator if not the look of the colossal Austrian synonymic with the concept. On screen rival Josh Brolin's rhetoric sums up Chigurh's unassuming threat memorably mid-film "What's this guy supposed to be, the ultimate badass?" a question that almost answers itself by the time it is asked. There is much to be said for Bardem's work here which is calculating and structured much like the persona and propensity of his character, exuding true remorseless terror with chilling conviction and genuine fear.