Why did he help Richard so much, it's almost like he wanted to be caught
I'm not insane I'm just crazy
He probably figured that appearing to be on Richard's side was his best move; that way, maybe Richard would give him the benefit of the doubt.
shareI was wondering this very question myself, especially at the end when Richard asked Nichols to call Bones at the hospital and give him whatever help he needs.. In the beginning, when Nichols gave him the money, it could be argued that he never really thought that Richard would get as far as he did in proving his innocence. At the end however, if I were Nichols, I would have been hesitant to help any further after Richard found out about Devlin MacGregor.. I would have at least tipped off Gerard that Richard mentioned going to the hospital.
shareHe borrowed Kimble's car and phoned Sykes that night, and it wasn't a forced break in at his house, so if his good friend all of a sudden doesn't help him, or rats him to the cops when he asks him for money, it looks suspicious and snowballs into looking into him. Also, since he last saw him, Lentz has died and maybe several more colleagues, and he doesn't know if Kimble knows this, so he doesn't want to give him the slightest hint of "off" behaviour.
There's a brief shot of fear in his eyes when Kimble says "Your hot, pal. If not now, you will be".
He either just assumes he'll be too busy on the run to be investigating the murder himself, (and as long as he's out the way I don't think he's bothered) or he knows he's aware he might be looking into it but assumes when he makes contact with him again, like he said he would, he'd be able to make another attempt on his life at the first opportunity. Which is what he does when he phones Sykes after realizing he's getting close to the truth.
Plus, and this is obvious, the writers and director don't want US to know Nichols is one of the bad guys....until the last possible moment.
shareNichols hoped to locate Kimble so that he could have Sykes kill him.
shareHe gets useful intel from Richard. It helps him calculate his next move to get Kimble.
shareI think the one poster who said he gave him a few bucks at first because he didn't think he would be long before he was caught.
But as things dragged out, My guess would be by helping Kimble, he could be pretty sure where he would be and therefore be able to lead Sykes to him.
I thought this was poor writing in an otherwise great movie. It would have been easier for Nichols to continue to get Kimble to trust him and lure him into a trap and call the police to have him thrown back in jail, rather than risk Sykes taking him out, which would have lead to potential heat from the police. As it turned out, the latter did lead to his undoing.
shareRichard already know about the Devlin MacGregor fraud with Provasic. He told Nichols as much on the phone. Nichols couldn't risk that news getting out. If he arranged for Richard to get caught by the police, then the story would have certainly gone public. Having Sykes kill him was the only valid option. Offering his help so he knew where he'd be was the best course of action for Nichols.
shareRichard didn´t know about the Provasic conspiracy until almost the very end of the movie. When Nichols helps Kimble with cash outside his tennis club, Richard had only just recently escaped. In that moment, Richard clearly trusted Nichols. Nichols should have followed Richard, or invented whatever ruse possible to get Richard thrown back in jail.
shareI just watched the scene yesterday. When Richard called Nichols to ask for help with Roosevelt, he told him directly:
From IMSDb:
I found him, Charlie. I found the guy that killed Helen.
What?
It's all about a drug, Charlie. They tried to kill me because of a drug.
Who?
Devlin-MacGregor and Lentz. Lentz was supervising the R.D.U.90 protocol. He knew I'd found out the drug had problems. It's Lentz.
Richard, Lentz is dead. He died in an auto accident last summer. Can you prove this about the drug?
I need your help. Call Mr. Roosevelt and tell him I'm coming in.
I remember the scene. My point is Nichols should have got Kimble thrown in jail way before any of that rather than risk Kimble finding out more.
shareI agree that it would have been more beneficial for Nichols to have Richard apprehended early on. However, I can't agree that it's bad writing the way it transpired.
During the first meeting, he played it cool, offering assistance. What was the alternative? Try to detain him and apprehend him himself? In that moment it would be better to build his trust, as you said yourself "for Nichols to continue to get Kimble to trust him and lure him into a trap and call the police to have him thrown back in jail."
Then the next time Richard contacts Nichols, he knows the dirt.
I suppose it's a valid line of thinking that "Nichols should have followed Richard, or invented whatever ruse possible to get Richard thrown back in jail." But that was someone making the wrong judgement call in an unexpected situation. Given the circumstance, I can't blame Nichols for what he did spur of the moment. I certainly wouldn't consider it bad writing.
"Nichols couldn't risk that news getting out. If he arranged for Richard to get caught by the police, then the story would have certainly gone public."
They had already tried to silence Kimble but failed since Kimble already knew about the side effects of the RDU90. The only difference was at the end of the movie, Kimble found out about the conspiracy. It made no sense for Nichols to delay killing him until the end of the movie since he already tried at the beginning. Kimble being in jail was the next best thing. At the tennis club, he should have immediately tried to kill him again, or have him thrown back in jail.
At the tennis club, he should have immediately tried to kill him again, or have him thrown back in jail.
I also agree that it's not bad writing. In fact, I think Charles' actions are quite calculating and subtle. So were the writers in regards to this particular twist. I love the fact that they totally revealed that Charles was involved in Helen's murder with his first line, but in a way that only a very perceptive viewer would notice.
Charles returning the car keys to Richard was a casual encounter and may have seemed unimportant at first, especially as the focus was quickly shifted to Richard's introduction with Lentz and then meeting up with Helen. However, if you happened to recall it during the Richard's interrogation and trial when they were talking about about home access and observing that "no forcible entry was found", then you might realize somebody else DID have keys to the house that night...CHARLES.
Anyway, let me move on to Charles' actions later in the movie:
The first time Richard approached Charles, he was totally floored at seeing his "old friend" again. Once he composed himself a bit, he offered Richard a drive, or place to stay in order to keep up the pretense of being a concerned ally. He also didn't really have any reason to worry at this point because he assumed Richard would simply stay on the run indefinitely or be recaptured quickly. Either way, he would never have expected Richard to start his own investigation.
Charles didn't hear from Richard again until he called to reveal all he'd learned about RDU-90, Sykes, Lentz, and Devlin-MacGregor. Charles was pretty shocked here too and knew he had to tread very carefully, which is why he hesitated slightly in telling Richard that Lentz had been killed. He quickly questioned Richard about being able to prove his theory regarding RDU-90. When Richard confirmed that he could, Charles knew he had to act fast and control the situation.
Richard requesting access to the samples actually worked in Charles' favor. He authorized the access knowing he could explain that away by doubling down on the fact that he believed Richard was innocent and that he was simply trying to help him. In reality, Charles used Richard to remove the liver samples and then sent Sykes to intercept Richard, retrieve the evidence and kill him.
It was actually a pretty good plan, except Charles didn't realize that Richard would go directly to Kathy for help analyzing the samples (which is why Sykes was having a hard time tracking him down), and was equally unaware that Gerard was on the verge of uncovering the truth himself. Even if Sykes had been successful in killing Richard and securing the evidence, he and Charles still would've gone down. Gerard could prove Charles called Sykes the night of Helen's murder and had the means to access the Kimble home. He would also have Kathy's testimony regarding the liver samples and everything she and Richard discussed.
My thoughts exactly.
shareWhen Richard first approaches him in the tunnel, it caught Nichols by surprise, and he probably gave Richard some money without even thinking about it. Worth noting as well that when the Marshalls come to see him, he tells them all about it. I think he just figured they would catch Richard eventually so why not help them out a little bit. Besides, its not like Richard is going to start investigating what was really going on at the hospital.
As time went along it became clear to Nichols that Richard was very good at evading the police, and he was putting together the puzzle of what really lead up to his wife's murder. So he continued to give minimal help to him, just so he would keep his trust, and have an idea where he was so Sykes could go take care of him.
It's kind of funny you mention him helping him because him being a villain is a plot twist. You don't even find out he had a hand in Helen Kimble's death until the end.
share