He was a slime but at the same time they went out of the way to show his good side. It was clear he loved Jesse and he was very protective of Tommy. It's just strange. The movie's theme song could even apply to Jake and Jesse although not as much with Terry and Jesse. Was it a good idea for us to sympathize with a bad person?
Tha Hot Girlz -- THE99 And 4 Eva!
Great observation! Personally, I loved his character but I think he threw the entire movie out of whack.
Not to put down Bridges or even Ward, but I think Woods is a higher caliber actor and especially adept at playing characters that are both sympathetic and slimey. He could probably give the impression of a multifaceted character even if only one dimension existed in the script, but in Against All Odds, he had A LOT of help from the scriptwriter. He was given extremely sympathetic moments: the mention that he'd gotten Jesse off drugs and the incident where he tossed patrons out of his club who made racist remarks to Tommy. Because of these sympathetic touches, I lost sympathy with the way Terry and Jesse treated him. His desire to kill Terry at the climax was so well-motivated, it was poignant.
In the context of the story, he shouldn't have been so sympathetic. I remember staring at the screen (when I saw the movie first run) wondering, "What were they thinking?"
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"I've always resisted the notion that knowledge ruined paradise." Prof. Xavier
I have to disagree here. He was a scumbag capable of caring and sympathy, but it didn't make him any less dangerous or slimy. He wanted his girl off of the drugs, but keep in mind that he considered her his lucky charm. He wanted her clean the same way most people don't want mud to get all over their lucky rabbit's foot. If she's always messed up, then she'll always cause trouble for him, be an embarrassment to him, and she'll likely end up dead sooner than he wants. Then he'll have lost his lucky charm and won't be able to get it back. Let's also keep in mind that if she dies young on his watch his "business associates", like Ben, won't likely be to pleased with him. There were motives, much stronger than "love" and "sympathy" involved in his insistence against the drugs, like business and pride. Honestly, who wants to have everyone know they're going with some dopey girl that can't even stand up straight and is constantly asking people if they're holding?
As for tossing people out on account of Tommy, that might have been more genuine, but perhaps not as well. His other associates obviously relied on Tommy as well, and he probably found Tommy's loyalty and effectiveness so important to his business that he could afford to throw the occasional jerk out of the club.
In any case, I'm sure that the character was aware of what people perceived in regards to his sympathy, and used it to his advantage, or at least tried to. Some people saw through it, like Jesse and Terry. Some people were just as corrupt as he and assumed it made him soft and stupid.
In any case, when he did get Jesse off the smack, she saw her folly and got out.
His plot against Terry was an example of his guile. He knew that people saw his sympathetic side and knew what a weapon that could be. He offered Terry a way out, hoping that Terry would see it as a friendly gesture and take the bait. He didn't, and that's evidence that Terry saw through Jake at every turn and simply knew what kind of guy he was.
A last example of that sympathetic personality is his offering of friendship. He was ready to be Terry's "friend for life", he said, but he was only friends with people that made him money, were of use to him, and once they stopped being useful, or let him down in any way, they were no longer friends with him.
T/y for the thread as Woods' performance in Against All Odds is one of the 3-4 best jobs of acting I've ever watched. Not just Oscarworthy but for me earning him ever lasting rank among the all-time greats.
And in particular, his delivery of the line. "Right in my EFFING face" to Jessie during the climatic scene. It just floored me first viewing, and still does to this day. Some takes just "get there" as far as acting magic goes and Woods that take, got there unforgettably so.
I mean Woods' Jake Wise is c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y in love w/ a woman he desperately wants to love him back and yet knows - KNOWS - she loves another. And, of course that is the kind of gutwrenching pain no words can ever really adequately describe.
And Jessie knows it too. Jessie *knows* Jake will not harm her - he can't he loves her too much to. This is a
guy - Wise - who is smart, slick, and tough; and utterly ruthless toward anyone and anything save for one thing (person) Jessie Wyler. Well let me amend that Wise has a bond w/ his #2 man, Tommy; but that's borne of shared criminal "having each other's back" and further it's between guys and so completely apart from Jake's incalculable longing for Jessie.
I just spent an hour reading AAO's threads here at IMDB, and see many pan the film which is their privilege of course; to me tho it stands up well against the original which is the highest praise I can offer ANY film. I wonder what percentage of those who did not care for the movie have seen, "Out of the Past"? To me it's the greatest Noir I've ever watched.
I only wish Woods & Bridges & Ward would work another project together, if not reprise these characters (which may be asking a bit too much b/c I think this movie - and the chemistry between all three leads - caught lightning in a bottle.)
And please forgive the long winded intro to an attempt to answer your question posed ...
I do think it was worthwhile to give the Jake Wise character some depth. Becoming involved w/someone makes for a complicated jigsaw puzzle on a good day; it would have been too easy to just paint Wise as a crum, giving him some humanity makes our jobs as viewers more difficult - we cant dismiss Jake Wise out of hand. Ever been heartsick? Okay so we empathize (sp?) w/ a "villain" & it makes for a much better movie my opinion.
Terry, Jessie and Jake are three attractive, smart, but very effed up people, and I think we as viewers are conflicted watching their 'thing' work itself out. Again making for a much better - challenging - movie.
I was sympathetic to Jake tho admittedly my admiration for Jimmy Woods colored my glasses. Do you think Terry and Jessie ever got back together? How often does real life mirror reel life? Hooray for Hollywood ... endings.
And I wonder how Jake made it thru ... it ain't easy having it bad for someone who doesn't (or just can't) requite the attraction. (Most all hearts have been there ... unfortunately ... oh well ...) Does Jake turn bitter and take it out on the world? Or whistful and turn a leaf? (Been that done there and know the latter provides the glue to try to paste the pieces back together.)
So peace
and
PS: To end this let me steal a line I enjoy: "I didn't have time to write you a short letter so I wrote you a long one." <grin>
And thanks for reading this far if you have ...
The fact that we feel this complexity is exactly what great drama is about. When we feel sympathy for an ostensibly villainous person, is the point---to make us think.
Carpe Noctem
James Woods created a character whom was likable even though Jake was slime. Woods is an excellent actor.
sharegreat driver too.
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I like when they show a human side to villains...its makes them more interesting. Jake is obviously a bad guy BUT his love for the woman sort of humanizes him. In fact you can argue he loved her more than terry. You can also argue that his love for her caused his downfall
sharethat's true. terry was a clod.
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