Could Barry help not falling down? He sounded misplaced among the aristocrats and high society and Lord Ludd was right in describing him as an opportunist. What was his mistake, if any, that led to his downfall?
shareNot truly understanding the society in which he miraculously found himself among. He should have studied who and what they were and he should have treated Bullingdon with kid gloves. But Lyndon was only street smart, it never went further than that to his misfortune. He was only a pretty face.
shareI would say settling down and of course setting out to deceive a woman and her young son.
As the film goes along we see Redmund grow from a young, insecure, naive country boy into a reckless manipulator.
I suppose in a weird way it's a cautionary tale about seeing too much of the world. Redmund knew where he came from and he saw where he could go. Most average Irish, English, whatever country, would have lived, breathed, reproduced and died in the same place. To see such great wealth and to know that it is attainable is almost too much to bear.
I suppose Barry's drive to better his life is ironically his downfall.
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The character of Barry Lyndon does have an interesting characteristic in that in times of peril or stress, his instinct was to be good (part from the first duel you may argue).
When his family friend was injured in battle he carried him. When the Prussian officer was in peril he saved him. The final duel and him shooting into the ground.
It was when he had time and space to think that his dislikable side came out.
His treatment of Lord Bullingdon is so ill considered that it is his downfall. He proved he could be a loving father and had he been discreet re his philanderings and treated the Lord well and been a father to him, it could have gone a long way to sealing a better fate and would not have required the expensive courting of upper classes in an attempt to get a title.
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I think I already replied, but after a rewatching yesterday, I have a new theory.
Redmond at a young age is cast out away from his so called first love so she can marry a well paid officer. because of this he doesn't get to learn to understand how to make and deal with mistakes, and learn to outgrow his boyish impulses. then every situation he gets into he takes advantage of and cheats his way upwards- bringing his fall down on himself.
Now I'm not really good at explaining things, and this is incredibly deep, and complex, but I think this also comparable to the downfall of Romeo and Juliet, where outside interference with the lead(s) not knowing how to deal with the situation at hand.
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Satisfaction.
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