Yeah. I mean, obviously Tom Ludlow is a VERY flawed and complex character. I kinda wanted him to be punished, too, but at the same time want to redeem himself which he kinda did. The things he did is something that the bad guys would do to people and his personality describes him as a hardass with almost no emotions. Plus, he's very intimadating but not menacing which is amazing because it's hard to pull off such a difficult character that's extremely virile and a bit of a curmudgeon yet somehow serves a good purpose at the same time. The whole time looking at the movie where he goes nearly ape$!$% even over a little thing, I was like, "Geez! Calm down! Breathe. Breathe!" I would see him roughing up guys and engage in a screaming match at them. Maybe he can't help that he needs to keep his temper under control when living in a very messed up and corrupted world. And I think he probably would've been a TOTAL HARDASS if haven't been for scenes dealing with the deaths of his partners, Washington and Diskant(though he seem so hard towards them), Grace and Linda(Washington's wife), and the ending with his superior and friend, Wander. The ending is bittersweet because even though he takes down the bad guys, he's still stuck in a corrupted situation. But for some odd reason, the look on his face at the end was like, "There's no use in complaining. I might as well have to live with it and continue trying protect those who doesn't deserve to be in this horrific environment by destroying those who're inflicting evil." I think he himself doesn't think of himself as a hero. I think he's an excellent example of an anti-hero.
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red_rackham_77
14 years ago
Anti-hero? YEah! I forgot about that, I was trying to figure this character, thanks for the help.
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gljbradley
14 years ago
No problem. Yeah. He's basically an anti-hero. An anti-hero I think is someone who appears to look like a villain and does some things where a 'clean-cut' and moralistic person wouldn't do like killing, manipulating, and personality is rather dark, yet they do have a good heart and serve a purpose. I think Tom does have a good heart but it's just that he goes around beating the living crap or brutalizing people(though 99% are corrupted bad guys) in order to achieve justice for the innocent and in his own way, 'get rid of evil that plagues his world'.
Btw, have you noticed Grace and Linda were probably the two people in the movie he actually was more delicate with.
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subase
14 years ago
I personally don't see him as an anti-hero. I see him as a hero.
The thing is people need to understand his mindset and the environment he's in. He's in a warzone, a fundamentally corrupt jungle where the biggest guy wins. In this respect his character makes perfect sense, his use of violence is quick BUT forgiving. His judgement final but merciful His demeanour cold but secretly warm.
This is best highlighted in the last scene. He kills his best friend, (even though it would likely result in his life imprisonment) why?, noone knows. Ludlow obviously has a hard as steel moral core that he digs from and that nothing can change.
This is affirmed in the film by many. Wander and Laurie look up to him, they admire him. The guy is not an anti-hero, he is a white knight in world of gray.
That he is remotely believable is testament to Reeves skills, and perhaps the writer and director.
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gljbradley
14 years ago
I never looked at it like that, subase. That's very good and interesting.
He lives in a very screwed up and corrupted world, and he can't help but feel a bit grim about everything. His environment is definetly like crime-filled jungle that's like a disease that won't go away.
I totally agree about KR's acting skills in this movie(even though most people really think he can't act). He did a wonderful job portraying the troubled yet uncorrupted detective on the edge. The writer and director did a great job in bringing this story to the screen.
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