Watching some older TV series that lasted for a few years, we picked up on a trend that more than a few used. The lead protagonists are very gray, meaning their imperfections are quite apparent.
I just completed watching a series called “Brotherhood” starring Jason Clarke and Jason Isaacs. Clarke played Tommy Caffee, a popular state representative, while Isaacs played his gangster brother Michael.
The theme of the series is to show the brothers are not that different, with both cutting corners. Yet, while Tommy is less gray, he still is far from perfect making deals to get ahead.
Before this series, we watched “Ray Donovan,” where Ray (played by Liev Schreiber) solves problems for people with money. He would often go very gray during his machinations. Like the two brothers above, Ray is loyal to his family, but he still does some unthinkable things.
I don’t know what started the recent trend. It may be “The Sopranos“ about a mafia boss and his family and personal problems. But, it may go back to earlier shows and movies. “The Godfather” was about a mafia family as well whose classic line is “Take the gun, leave the Cannoli.”
Before then, John Wayne’s best movies are when he played gray protagonists. He even won the Oscar for playing a drunken, corner cutting marshal in “True Grit.” And, Humphrey Bogart rarely played perfect heroes. He played shady and savvy quite well. But, the advent of the anti-hero may be the primary cause for today’s trend.
Clint Eastwood is the ultimate anti-hero who fought oligarchs, landowners, bureaucrats and criminals. From his mysterious drifter roles to Josey Wales to Dirty Harry, the bad people did not stand a chance. Plus, they had to hear his platitudes before they died. “Dyin’ ain’t much of livin’ boy.” Bang, you’re dead. So, we bought into the get it done by any means anti-hero.
Yet, the recent trend is the anti-hero may be a criminal as well. We enjoyed “City on the Hill,” but Kevin Bacon’s FBI agent was as bad as the criminals. “Pulp Fiction” had very few redeeming protagonists where the two leads were hitmen.
The hard line for screenwriters to avoid is when the watchers believe the protagonist should end up in jail. To me, that is when they may have gone a bridge too far.
musingsofanoldfart 