Across the decades, so many films of different genres pit the good guys against the bad guys. The good guys are the stalwart heroes: the town sheriff in a western, for example, or the determined cop in a crime film. The bad guys are the villains: the ruthless and soulless killer, the greedy robber, the mad scientist intent on world domination. If these films are well-made, well-written, and well-acted, they work as first-rate entertainment.
However, a film will be more than a first-rate entertainment if it offers multi-leveled portrayals of its heroes and villains. This is not to say that excuses will be made for the bad behavior of its villains, or the flaws of its heroes will be emphasized for the purpose of presenting those heroes as less than super-human. For after all, people are complex beings. And when their complexities are written into the storyline, the result will make them recognizable to viewers.
Take for example the central character in HBO’s THE SOPRANOS, which arguably is the greatest-ever dramatic TV series. This character is of course Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini. On one level, Tony is like any other suburban husband and father. He has issues with his wife and their teenage daughter and son, as well as his mother, who is manipulative, and his sister, who is directionless. He also suffers from depression and is in therapy. Given all this, it is easy to imagine Tony Soprano worrying about the crabgrass that is taking over his lawn. This is what makes him recognizable to millions of average Americans.
But Tony is different. He does not hop on a commuter train five days a week, year after year, to trek to his Big City office. He is, after all, a mobster. Violence is an intrinsic part of his world, and combining his criminal lifestyle with his suburban-American issues results in a character who is endlessly fascinating.
This brings to mind THE PARADISE SUITE, a stark, uncompromising new drama from the Netherlands. One of the characters in THE PARADISE SUITE is a middle-aged man who has just become a father. He loves and pampers the baby. Surely, with such a caring parent, this child will come of age enjoying all of life’s advantages.
Only problem is, how do you suppose the father will support the child? What is his background? What are his values? Well, the fact is that dear-old-dad is not just a Serbian war criminal. He is a pimp, with an army of sadistic underlings beneath him, and he entices pretty but naïve young girls to come to Amsterdam for photo shoots. Once there, he has them raped and imprisoned, and transforms them into prostitutes.
While watching THE PARADISE SUITE, I only could compare this despicable man to a character like Tony Soprano or to the concentration camp commandant who loves his wife and adores his children. Such a wonderful husband and father... But of course, Tony Soprano casually kills for a living and the commandant’s “day job” has him charged with the imprisonment and extermination of countless Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists, socialists, gypsies, and gays. Time passes and things change, but life’s seamier side remains ever-present. And ultimately, “good” and “bad” are irrevocably intertwined.
Rob Edelman as written several books on film, television, and baseball, and was a longtime Contributing Editor of Leonard Maltin’s annual Movie Guide. He teaches film history at the University at Albany.
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