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100 Decent Folk In Cinema

post #1 of 147
11/4/09 at 9:07am
Thread Starter 
So this thread was prompted by a viewing of THE STATION AGENT, as well as a morbid curiosity about whether or not we as a collective could reach the 100 mark when looking at our favourite examples of genuinely nice, good-hearted characters in cinema. I think my first choice gives as good an idea of the criteria as any-as with previous CHUD lists, add your own with a brief explanation.

1. Bobby Cannavale as Joe Oramas, THE STATION AGENT - Just a decent, salt-of-the-earth type, played excellently by the often-overlooked Cannavale. The Dink obviously got all the kudos when the movie was released, but Joe's dogged determination to make friends with the little guy, completely free of any kind of preconceived notions regarding his height, is key to the audience's own investment in him. Without Joe's good-natured oafish presence, the central Clarkson/Dinklage plot strand would feel strained, or even outright contrived. He's the glue that holds the central trio together.
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post #2 of 147
11/4/09 at 9:25am
Stating the obvious:

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

No justification necessary. A moral centre in an ambivalent, tumultuous society.
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post #3 of 147
11/4/09 at 9:59am
Recent and rather obvious as well:

Richard Jenkins as Ted Treffon in Burn after Reading: In a movie that actively loathes his characters, Ted is the only decent human being that is not displayed as an utter buffon or sociopath. If there is one person that reasssembles basic human decency it his character. Which makes his ultimate fate and the viewers reaction to it in this movie even more a testament to the way the Coens punish their characters in this movie.
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post #4 of 147
11/4/09 at 10:15am
4. Mageina Tovah as Ursula Ditkovich, Spider-Man 2 and 3

One that I'm sure would've gone unmentioned, considering how many people thought her scene in 2 stopped the movie dead. Which is sad, because she's probably the most pivotal, vital person in that boy's life. When everything else is going to shit, he doesn't need speeches, he doesn't need somebody else telling him how wonderful it is to be a hero, he doesn't need more relationship drama or someone else telling him how to deal with relationship drama. She offers him a piece of chocolate cake, and a few minutes of non-judgmental silence.

That's a beautiful thing.
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post #5 of 147
11/4/09 at 11:04am
5. Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

This one's probly debatable, since he does a couple of questionable things throughout the film, but trapped in a situation that would have ruined those weaker than him, Andy manages to bring about an immense amount of positive change, not only in those around him but in the system as well.
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post #6 of 147
11/4/09 at 11:12am
Thread Starter 
I dunno. I kinda see it, but Atticus Finch would've served his time and whiled away the hours trying to concoct the perfect parole-hearing speech. Red probably would've been a better choice, even with the whole murder thing.
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post #7 of 147
11/4/09 at 11:19am
6. Raul Julia as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family - He genuinely loves his wife and his family, and is nice to his common man. Just because what he finds nice might be different than what you find nice is no cause to doubt his decency.
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post #8 of 147
11/4/09 at 11:20am
7. Danny Glover as Simon, Grand Canyon

Quote:
You ever been to the Grand Canyon? Its pretty, but thats not the thing of it. You can sit on the edge of that big ol' thing and those rocks... the cliffs and rocks are so old... it took so long for that thing to get like that... and it ain't done either! It happens right there while your watching it. It's happening right now as we are sitting here in this ugly town. When you sit on the edge of that thing, you realize what a joke we people really are... what big heads we have thinking that what we do is gonna matter all that much... thinking that our time here means didly to those rocks. Just a split second we have been here, the whole lot of us. That's a piece of time so small to even get a name. Those rocks are laughing at me right now, me and my worries... Yeah, its real humorous, that Grand Canyon. Its laughing at me right now. You know what I felt like? I felt like a gnat that lands on the ass of a cow chewing his cud on the side of the road that you drive by doing 70 mph.
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post #9 of 147
11/4/09 at 1:25pm
8. Russel Means as Old Indian, Natural Born Killers

Gives assistance to Mickey and Mallory only to be repaid with death. Mainly stands out as he's pretty much the only character in the film who isn't a sadist prison warden, a hooker choking detective, a daughter raping, wife beating drunk, utterly amoral narcissistic media guy etc.
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post #10 of 147
11/4/09 at 1:31pm
9. Dennis Hopper as Clifford Worley, 'True Romance'.

He comes through for his son and never sells him out.
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post #11 of 147
11/4/09 at 2:44pm
10. Margie Gunderson - FARGO

In a movie full of psychopathic killers, cowardly kidnap masterminds, and disingenuous Asian engineers she's the calm, kind, pragmatic conscience. Pretty much everyone gets what they deserve in FARGO. Marge gets to come home to Norm and cheer him up about losing out to the Hautman's. Good Lord, I love that character.
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post #12 of 147
11/4/09 at 2:49pm
11. Steve Buscemi as "Donnie" - The Big Lebowski


He's so innocent and means so well. He also loved to surf.
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post #13 of 147
11/4/09 at 3:03pm
12. Laurence Fishburne as Furious Styles

O-o-h Child, things are gonna get easier.

One of cinema's alltime great fathers.

Tho he kept his son alive and out of trouble, does lose points for not talking him out of Snow Dogs and Boat Trip.
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post #14 of 147
11/4/09 at 3:05pm
13. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell - No Country For Old Men

He's just trying to do his job even though he's completely outmoded.
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post #15 of 147
11/4/09 at 11:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
4. Mageina Tovah as Ursula Ditkovich, Spider-Man 2 and 3

One that I'm sure would've gone unmentioned, considering how many people thought her scene in 2 stopped the movie dead. Which is sad, because she's probably the most pivotal, vital person in that boy's life. When everything else is going to shit, he doesn't need speeches, he doesn't need somebody else telling him how wonderful it is to be a hero, he doesn't need more relationship drama or someone else telling him how to deal with relationship drama. She offers him a piece of chocolate cake, and a few minutes of non-judgmental silence.

That's a beautiful thing.
Seconded. Of all the criticisms thrown at her scene in 2, I found that scene much more stirring than Rosemary Harris' speech about heroism.
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post #16 of 147
11/5/09 at 2:06am
14. Giuletta Masina as Gelsomina in La Strada

She's basically sold off into marriage by her family to a cruel, psychotic man who loves her, but can only express it in cruelty and violence. She's an innocent girl who tries her best, and stands by him even when it's not in her interests to do so.
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post #17 of 147
11/5/09 at 2:22am
15. Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild
Extraordinarily decent? Or extremely lonely?
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post #18 of 147
11/5/09 at 3:08am
16. O.P. Heggie & Gene Hackman as the Blind Hermit (Bride of Frankenstein/Young Frankenstein)

Old, blind, poor, living alone in a humble cottage, the hermit has little to his (unrevealed) name but he's delighted to share his meager fare with the hulking stranger who comes to his door one cold night. Serving beer and soup, offering cigars and language lessons, the hermit brings a few precious moments of friendship to the monster's normally pitchfork-and-scream-ridden existence, at least until a couple of visioned yokels (or a burning thumb) force the monster to continue wandering. Too bad, Hackman was going to make espresso.
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post #19 of 147
11/5/09 at 3:26am
17. Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent in Superman

"One thing I know, son, is that you are here for a reason... It's not to score touchdowns."

In something under five minutes of screen time, we learn everything we need to know about how and why the most powerful being on the planet grows up imbued with morality and humility. Ford's sincere reading goes a long way towards keeping things from getting hokey or simplistic.
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post #20 of 147
11/5/09 at 3:58am
Henry Fonda as Tom Joad in Grapes of Wrath.

Sure, he begins the film just getting paroled from prison for murder, and kills someone else by the end of the film. But both are cases of clear-cut self-defense. He's the all-American laborer, who throughout the course of the film realizes that part of the reason he and his family have been led to destitution, aside from the corruption inherent in the pure capitalism of the system, is also because he's remained ignorant to the ways of the world. It's not enough for him to just make from one piece of scrap to the next, you watch him develop a political conscience, and by the end of it, he devotes himself to the cause of social justice. He's also just so good to his momma.
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post #21 of 147
11/5/09 at 5:08am
Nice one, Z.
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post #22 of 147
11/5/09 at 9:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nekkerbee View Post
16. O.P. Heggie & Gene Hackman as the Blind Hermit (Bride of Frankenstein/Young Frankenstein)

Old, blind, poor, living alone in a humble cottage, the hermit has little to his (unrevealed) name but he's delighted to share his meager fare with the hulking stranger who comes to his door one cold night. Serving beer and soup, offering cigars and language lessons, the hermit brings a few precious moments of friendship to the monster's normally pitchfork-and-scream-ridden existence, at least until a couple of visioned yokels (or a burning thumb) force the monster to continue wandering. Too bad, Hackman was going to make espresso.
My wife and I just watched Bride of Frankenstein this past Halloween season, and this scene is the one that stood out to her the most. It's one of the reasons Bride may just be better than the original. Good call.
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post #23 of 147
11/5/09 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
Some great picks so far. Gomez and Clifford Worley are inspired.

19. Martin Sheen as Detective Captain Oliver Queenan, THE DEPARTED - for being the only truly good guy in Scorsese's Boston, and for loffering Leo some leftovers. In a film full of blood and thunder, it's Queenan's fate that ultimately has the most emotional impact.
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post #24 of 147
11/5/09 at 1:43pm
20. Jimmy Stewart - George Bailey (It's A Wonderful Life)

It's not enough that he's nice. He's conflicted. Time and time again, George sacrifices his own dreams, his own ambitions, his own hopes and desires for the good of the people of Bedford Falls. And he does so knowing that he's a slave to his own niceness and decency. Stewart carries this off beautifully. It's heartbreaking, but simultaneously uplifting. It's one of the reasons that It's a Wonderful Life will always be one of my alltime favorite movies--not favorite Christmas movie--but favorite of all-time.
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post #25 of 147
11/5/09 at 3:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
4. Mageina Tovah as Ursula Ditkovich, Spider-Man 2 and 3

One that I'm sure would've gone unmentioned, considering how many people thought her scene in 2 stopped the movie dead. Which is sad, because she's probably the most pivotal, vital person in that boy's life. When everything else is going to shit, he doesn't need speeches, he doesn't need somebody else telling him how wonderful it is to be a hero, he doesn't need more relationship drama or someone else telling him how to deal with relationship drama. She offers him a piece of chocolate cake, and a few minutes of non-judgmental silence.

That's a beautiful thing.
Harry over at AICN says a lot of incoherent platitudes, but I remember him saying, and I agree, that Ursula is the only woman in Peter Parker's life (besides Aunt May) who actually cares about Peter and not Spiderman. Always liked that scene, it was a moment of peace before everything fell apart in Pete's life.
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post #26 of 147
11/5/09 at 5:36pm
21. The Tramp played by Charlie Chaplin (City Lights)

There are many good qualities displayed by Chaplin's Tramp character, but none more so than in the film City Lights. Through a coincidence a blind flower girl mistakes him as a rich man. The tramp doesn't have the heart to prove her wrong, especially after he discovers her condition can be cured only if he had the money. He endures trials throughout the film, getting and losing a job as a street sweeper, enduring a boxing match, saving the life and then being a friend to a rich drunk. Only to be sent to jail after the drunk sobers up and doesn't realize he gave the money to the Tramp for the Blind girl. And then when he is paroled he doesn't even have the heart to tell the girl who he is when she can see, not wanting to ruin her image of her fantasy hero, but she finds out anyway after touching his hand...

Few films could make me laugh and cry like this one.
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post #27 of 147
11/5/09 at 5:54pm
22. Paul Edgecomb, The Green Mile.
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post #28 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:02pm
23. Reginald VelJohnson as Sgt. Al Powell, 'Die Hard'.

He's the guy that you instinctually know that you can trust with your life. He's possessed of incredible personal character and integrity: he'll back you up in front of a superior officer, he'll listen to you when you need a friend to talk to, and he'll overcome a personal hangup to blow away a bad guy that's gunning for you.
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post #29 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:13pm
24. Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence -- Little Women

The only time a Christian Bale character could be described as warm and likeable, Laurie is the neighbor friend of all the March girls, and Jo March's BFF, in particular. Laurie wants to marry Jo, but she gives him the "Let Just Be Friends" speech, so he bides his time and waits for Amy March, the Dunst/Mathis amalgam, to grow up and then marries her. Consolation prize or upgrade? You make the call!
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post #30 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:20pm
25. Jimmy Stewart - Jefferson Smith, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

I think what I love most about Stewart's role as Jefferson Smith is the unbridled, genuine fascination with and love of the United States of America. It would feel hammy coming from anyone but Stewart, but he makes it feel genuine. One of my favorite moments is watching him become all giddy when he finds out his seat in the Senate was once occupied by Daniel Webster. That enthusiasm, awe and humility that he has to be serving his country in that way is inspiring and to be quite honest leaves me a little envious.
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post #31 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkatthemoon View Post
22. Paul Edgecomb, The Green Mile.
Care to offer any thoughts as to why?
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post #32 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:25pm
26: Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine "Casablanca"

I know... it might be a bit of a stretch, but hear me out.

The man is exiled from his home, stuck in a shithole of a city, terribly cynical and sleeps with women who are a pale comparison to the one love of his life.

But once she comes back... that's when he becomes human. Yes, he acts like a bastard-coated bastard to her immediately following the Paris flashback scene, but he is perfectly willing to string everyone along by misdirection until his plan to see Ilsa safely away is finally revealed. He's not a saint... not by any means. But how many of us would give up everything to make sure the one you love is safe? In the end, he does the decent thing.
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post #33 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:25pm
26. & 27. Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, played by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

Two guys so important in bringing the world together through their music that Rufus had to be sent back in time to make sure that they stayed together. Also taught us all to be excellent to each other. Some advice I think we could all take a step back and use every once in a while.
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post #34 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KidNtheHelmet View Post
Also taught us all to be excellent to each other. Some advice I think we could all take a step back and use every once in a while.

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post #35 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkatthemoon View Post
22. Paul Edgecomb, The Green Mile.
Yeah, like Mattioli said, this kinda needs an explanation. I think this one's a stretch. He executed a man he knew to be innocent... kinda takes him out of the "decent folk" moniker.
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post #36 of 147
11/5/09 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattioli View Post
Care to offer any thoughts as to why?
He worked every day around muderers, and always treated them decent. He understood that the prisoners on the mile where going to soon pay the ultimate punishment for their crimes, and that was good enough for him.

Plus, he took care of Mr. Jingles all those years.

True, he did execute an innocent man, but if he didn't someone else would have. Coffey was doomed, Paul allowed John to die with dignity.
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post #37 of 147
11/5/09 at 8:31pm
28. Steve Carell as Andy Stitzer in The 40 Year Old Virgin.

A nice guy with a decent job whose convinced himself he's happy living a life working, building models, collecting action-figures and watching Survivor with his elderly neighbors. Too many ill-fated attempts led him to a state-of-mind of fear and loneliness, more than anything else. Even his co-workers (originally convinced he had to be a serial killer and in all likelihood made fun of him behind his back) want to help him. Why? Because he's a good guy. Hell, he even takes his girlfriend's daughter to a doctor to get birth-control. This despite the fact that she hated him (which was more in spite on her mother than Andy himself). Even she's won over by his sincerity.
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post #38 of 147
11/5/09 at 9:09pm
Working in a stockroom in your forties is a decent job?
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post #39 of 147
11/5/09 at 9:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lima Oscar Lima View Post
26: Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine "Casablanca"

I know... it might be a bit of a stretch, but hear me out.

The man is exiled from his home, stuck in a shithole of a city, terribly cynical and sleeps with women who are a pale comparison to the one love of his life.

But once she comes back... that's when he becomes human. Yes, he acts like a bastard-coated bastard to her immediately following the Paris flashback scene, but he is perfectly willing to string everyone along by misdirection until his plan to see Ilsa safely away is finally revealed. He's not a saint... not by any means. But how many of us would give up everything to make sure the one you love is safe? In the end, he does the decent thing.
Right on, there's also the fact, as brought up by Lazlo (I think) that even though he pretends to simply be a soldier of fortune, he's always on the side of the underdog. Rick is essentially a full-blown romantic/idealist pretending to be a cynic.
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post #40 of 147
11/5/09 at 9:26pm
29. TIE--Theo Fanon (Clive Owen) and Jasper (Micheal Caine), Children of Men

Jasper is obvious, as a kindly, funny, leftist pot-head who faces death for the greater good of his friends and humanity not only with dignity but even humor.

Theo to me is an even more interesting example, because much like Bogart he's a former idealist who has lost all faith until the love of his life re-emerges. Yet, whereas in Casablanca Rick has to be dragged back out of his shell by the woman, in COM, once Theo finds out what the stakes are, he devotes himself fully to getting the mother and child to safety--together. When the pregnancy is revealed he never once plays the reluctant hero. He just sets his sights on the end goal and goes way above and beyond to see it through. No speechifying or questioning at all, just deeds and action. His death doesn't even feel tragic, because it's not. The man goes out saving the future of human existence. That's goddamn decent right there.

(Really good idea for a draft by the way)
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post #41 of 147
11/5/09 at 9:43pm
Two on the identity crisis tip:

Sam in Moon - Sam is a guy who exiles himself to the moon to work out his interpersonal shortcomings, and it works. But as we find out near the end of the film, Sam's a decent guy at either end of his arc. He's just woken up, he's cranky and abrasive, and he just found out he's a clone, but he's still all set to send Sam 1 home instead of himself. I liked Sam.

Norman Bates in Psycho II - Perkins plays Norman in this one as a guy who's worked very hard to recover from the illness that led to the events of the first film, and he spends the whole movie trying to be a good guy, despite various attempts to drive him mad. He just wants to get back to his life and fix up the motel, throwing out Dennis Franz and refusing to let the motel be used for quickies. Norman's old-fashioned.
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post #42 of 147
11/5/09 at 9:50pm
30) Sloane Peterson(Mia Sara), Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Though I don't subscribe to the idea that Ferris is a sociopath(For God's Sake, he just skipped school a few times in his senior year to have fun with his friends), but I love Sloane in this. Cheerful and funny, she loves both Ferris and Cameron and isn't afraid to show it or say it.
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post #43 of 147
11/5/09 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Admiral Shark View Post
14. Giuletta Masina as Gelsomina in La Strada

She's basically sold off into marriage by her family to a cruel, psychotic man who loves her, but can only express it in cruelty and violence. She's an innocent girl who tries her best, and stands by him even when it's not in her interests to do so.
I would replace this with her in Nights of Cabiria.
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post #44 of 147
11/6/09 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 
Phil, Norman in PSYCHO II is just genius. I wish I'd thought of that one.
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post #45 of 147
11/6/09 at 7:06am
31) Elliott Gould's version of Philip Marlowe in 'The Long Goodbye'. I'm not well-informed enough on the morality of Chandler's original character, but Altman played this out as the story of a man driven by decency in a decadent society.
SPOILER so invisitext: Marlowe holds on to his loyalty to someone he considers a dear friend, only to be played like a puppet in the guy's dirty scheme.
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post #46 of 147
11/6/09 at 12:28pm
32 - Lloyd Dobler - SAY ANYTHING

I was obsessing over the right Cameron Crowe character for this list (William Miller's mom, Lester Bangs, Brian Shelby) when I realized that the first was probably the best. There are few scenes as endearing as Lloyd's phone call to ask Diane out as he paces the bathroom. He won't object to being keymaster, he'll hold your hand through your father's incarceration and tell you that as soon as the "Fasten Seatbelts" sign goes off everything's going to be okay.

Just don't give him a pen.
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post #47 of 147
11/6/09 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheftournel View Post
31) Elliott Gould's version of Philip Marlowe in 'The Long Goodbye'. I'm not well-informed enough on the morality of Chandler's original character, but Altman played this out as the story of a man driven by decency in a decadent society.
My favorite/the weirdest for the Marlowe character is his offhand speech to the Carradine brother he meets in jail, yelling to him that he's free inside his head as the police walk him away.
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post #48 of 147
11/6/09 at 12:50pm
Pasting here since you skipped me in the numbering!

Two on the identity crisis tip:

33 (and 33.1): Sam in Moon - Sam is a guy who exiles himself to the moon to work out his interpersonal shortcomings, and it works. But as we find out near the end of the film, Sam's a decent guy at either end of his arc. He's just woken up, he's cranky and abrasive, and he just found out he's a clone, but he's still all set to send Sam 1 home instead of himself. I liked Sam.

34. Norman Bates in Psycho II - Perkins plays Norman in this one as a guy who's worked very hard to recover from the illness that led to the events of the first film, and he spends the whole movie trying to be a good guy, despite various attempts to drive him mad. He just wants to get back to his life and fix up the motel, throwing out Dennis Franz and refusing to let the motel be used for quickies. Norman's old-fashioned.
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post #49 of 147
11/6/09 at 1:13pm
35. Ray Stanz, Ghostbusters.

Let's reduce it to a simple paradigm: Egon is the intellectual, Venkman is the smartass and Ray is the heart of the Ghostbusters. He's the sweet one, the little kid at heart who can't wait to spend the night in the firehouse, the one who fills his mind with the Stay Puft marshmallow man when things are at their worst. Perfect image that encapsulates this post: Ray nodding and smiling as Venkman gives Egon a candybar ("You... you've earned it.")
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post #50 of 147
11/6/09 at 1:17pm
Ramis: "I was the brain, Dan was the heart, and Bill was the mouth."
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