This article contains spoilers for Gone Girl and The Usual Suspects.When the movies dive in a crimeAnd stories centered around a lot of things that could go wrong. Cases can be unbelievable, characters’ motivations lack, and levels of violence ramp up without any good reason. However, when the movie gets the balance right, it can create interesting stories many years later.
At the beginning of the genre, the protagonists were the good guys, and audiences had no confusion about who to root for. However, as time progressed and characters became more complex, heroes became heroes, and audiences often rooted for criminals.
Making morally ambiguous characters the hero of a movie has become commonplace for screenwriters and filmmakers, and even realizing that a character has done illegal and sometimes unsavory things, the viewer is able to enjoy a well-made character, especially a criminal. There is no such thing as a highly intelligent criminal in a movie. If someone is able to put together a master plan and outwit everyone, you want them to get away with it.
Here are some of the most realistic and skilled criminals in movie history.
9 Frank Abagnale Jr. – Catch me if you can
It is important not to forget white collar criminals and their crimes, which do not have violent elements, but have a lot of deception and theft. Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Catch me if you can He runs away from home and starts forging checks for travel and hotel stays. Obviously, this quickly escalates into the creation of false identities (doctor, pilot, etc.).
The movie was based on a true story. However, recent investigations may indicate that most of the “true story element” is a grand hoax by Abagnale. However, the character was very skillful and down-to-earth in how he managed what he wanted.
8 Danny Ocean – Ocean’s Eleven
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is boss, along with Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) Ocean Eleven And the entire franchise. He is charming, intelligent, cunning, and has a clear understanding of what his skills are and when he needs to ask for help.
Danny is the perfect leader for a group of criminals, and he uses every influence he has to achieve his million dollar goal. And while some might suggest that the type of heist is exaggerated and completely implausible (there are some parts that are clearly fictional), there are many real-life stories, which are greater than any of the extravagant heists this team has done.
7 Tony Lee Stefano – Country
rural It is a classic French film noir considered one of the best films that preceded the French New Wave. The heist film, considered a precursor to the sub-genre that would explode in popularity in subsequent decades, was directed by American author Jules Dassin after being blacklisted and moving to France to pursue his career.
The gangster world is sure to romanticize with this brilliant crime thriller that is ultimately ruthless in its deadly depiction of crime that doesn’t pay. Tony Le Stefanois (Jean Servois), the protagonist, is an ex-con who spent time stealing jewelry. Tony and his team hatch an ingenious plan to enter a jewelry store and crack the safe. The movie had audiences on the edge of their seat with a 33-minute scene of safe-cracking.
6 Amy Dunn – Gone Girl
As anyone who has watched some movies or TV series knows, getting away with murder is not easy. But framing someone for murder can actually be easier — if done right. in The girl is goneIn David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel, Amy Dunn (Rosamund Pike) not only manages to disappear without leaving a trace, but also convincingly sets up her husband for her own murder.
The movie explains to some level of detail how she did it all: created a debt on their joint accounts, got their blood and (badly) cleaned up, etc. Dunn is many things, and being a skilled psychopath is one of her most important characteristics.
5 Neil McCauley – Heat
heat It will always be hailed as the first time Robert De Niro and Al Pacino worked together, even if they were on screen together for less than an eighth of a movie. However, the film should be remembered for its convincing criminality. The leader of a gang of thieves, Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is nothing short of top form.
The bank robbery was based on real-life events as well as the characters of Dinero and Pacino. He is very skilled and has goals commensurate with his abilities: stealing $12 million and escaping from Los Angeles. It also reflects the quality that ultimately destroys many of the smartest criminals – the ego.
4 Jack Carter – Get Carter
Get Carter is a British cult classic that gained its cult following years after its release when great directors like Quentin Tarantino expressed their appreciation for the gangster film. This movie has an almost documentary approach to the narrative (a kind unknown to director Mike Hodges).
In fact, the great Michael Caine, who portrays Jack Carter, was as impressed with the script’s realism as the audience – knowing that few gangsters grow up to actually be. There’s no questioning how skilled Carter is, and it’s different from how mobsters were portrayed in movies at the time.
3 Keyser Söze – The Usual Suspects
There is no shortage of interesting criminal characters in The usual suspects. However, the criminal mastermind Keyser Söze (Kevin Spacey) takes the lead as the most skilled. There is a lot of mystery surrounding this character, which enhances how compelling it is to watch this story and try to discover her identity. Söze manipulates all these criminal minds in order to get what he wants, and eventually succeeds. The character was based on a real case and killer named John List.
2 Michael Corleone – The Godfather
If there’s one thing no one can say about Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), it’s that he’s not very good at his job. In just 24 hours, Michael managed to eliminate all his enemies and become the most powerful man in the mafia underworld.
The protagonist, in three The Godfather In the movies, he was ruthless and extremely cold-blooded: he knew when to act and when to stand back and let things happen. He understood that in order to have the power he wanted, he had to be above anyone and anything – and that included killing family members in the process.
1 Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old Men
Psychopaths and sociopaths have become common themes and characters in modern productions. However, there are very few people who can express how unemotional these types of people are and how capable they are. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in There is no country for old men In fact it is one of the best depictions of a serial killer in the history of film according to actual science, as the guide reported on a study on the subject by specialists in the area. He has a strict code that allows and triggers him to kill people, which he is highly skilled at doing.
