In the movies there are those individuals that people can’t help but feel sorry for, even if they’re considered to be one of the worst characters ever. Many people feel sympathetic for a lot of characters in the movies for one reason or another, possibly because they’re simply that empathetic or because they see something that others choose not to. Feeling bad for fictional characters is kind of odd and even awkward at times, but there are plenty of people that get into their entertainment a little too much, while some just enjoy being sucked into the overall experience and find their emotions being tweaked in a way that they happen to enjoy or can’t avoid, or both. It’s odd to think that some people might sympathize with the antagonists or even just a character that appears to be less than useful to a story, but it’s entirely possible since out of the many people that watch the movies there are always bound to be a few that will cause people to feel bad for them in some way.
Here are a few individuals in the movies that people actually felt bad for.
7. Uncle Rico – Napoleon Dynamite
Obviously Uncle Rico is a bit of a jerk, but he’s a jerk holding on to a fantasy that he saw fall through, or well shy of, his grasp some time ago. In a way he’s kind of like the Al Bundy of the movie world in that he can’t get by that former glory and is doing whatever he can to get by, which includes sabotaging his nephew’s life and trying to drag his other nephew in on his schemes. There was redemption for Rico though since he did get back together with his estranged girlfriend and he did end up being his own man again, in a way. When it comes to feeling sorry for people though this is an odd one.
6. Smeagol – The Lord of the Rings
This is another oddball person to feel sorry for considering all the wrongs he did, but looking back at Smeagol’s life….no, no it’s still hard to feel sorry for him since even if he was taken in by the ring’s influence there had to be some knowledge that what he was doing was wrong. Given that he and Frodo weren’t too different since Smeagol was one of the river folk in his previous life it’s likely that some of his people had a resistance to the ring as well, though if one recalls, a person’s character was often brought out by the ring, enhanced, or slowly but surely twisted to its own wicked ends, so feeling sorry for this guy is a bit tough.
5. Gilbert Grape – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
How many people have seen this movie at this point? It’s one of the better movies that Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio have made in their past, but it’s also one that doesn’t quite move like many of their others, as it takes a pace that’s a little slower and requires more attention. But the whole thing about Gilbert is that he has a family that absolutely needs him, though growing tired of being needed in such a way is easy to imagine. When he finally does snap it’s easy to understand even though he’s not a saint to begin with, but the fact that he returns to his family is what makes it easy to sympathize with him.
4. Doughboy – Boyz N The Hood
Doughboy didn’t have much of a chance growing up since his mother treated him like dirt and he was expected to be a thug by a lot of people given that he started acting this way to insulate himself from the world. It’s true that he became a problem child and was in and out of jail, but the fact that his mother did care about him was hard to see most times since she doted on her other boy, Ricky. She did care, but she had a strange way of showing it at times, which obviously had a huge impact on Dough, who just wanted someone to care about him the way they cared about his brother.
3. John Coffey – The Green Mile
It was hard not to feel sorry for John Coffey, since he was a big-hearted individual that didn’t mean any harm but was unfairly judged for his looks and his size, and was accused of a heinous crime when all he was trying to do was help. Of course, if his miracle had been shown to those in attendance and the truth transmitted to others as he did to Tom Hanks’ character it’s likely that it would have been written that no one would have believed him, and that he might have been executed for trickery of some sort. Coffey was a gentle giant that just wanted it to end, no matter that the end he wanted would be final.
2. John Dunbar – Dances With Wolves
Some, many actually, would state that Kevin Costner’s role in this movie was to be the ‘white savior’ that went in and attempted to save the ways of his indigenous neighbors from being overrun by the white people. In truth, Dunbar’s attempt to simply get away from civilization had more to do with being unable to fully accept his place among his people, and his inclusion into the native tribe was less of an attempt to save them as it was for a bit of companionship.
1. Danny Torrance – Doctor Sleep
It would appear that Danny was born with the destiny of a debt to pay, which is hard to imagine any kind deity foisting upon anyone since the horrifying life that Danny was subjected to turned him into a drunk that sought to deaden his ability to shine. Feeling sorry for him was easy enough since no one should have to see the things he saw, but again, much like Gilbert Grape he’s to be commended since he found a way to face his demons and do some good before the end.
Sometimes feeling sorry for a character is easy, but sometimes it’s a bit awkward.
Follow Us
