20 Absolutely Insufferable Film Characters Who Didn't Deserve THAT

9. Barry Lyndon - Barry Lyndon

Unlike most protagonists who headline film epics, Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) is not some great, active legend who changes the lives of those around him. Rather, he is a chancer and a scoundrel who lives an empty life. He wins not through any great virtue, but through trickery, and in his endless quest for wealth and status, he prioritizes only himself. Barry's a terrible husband to the unfortunate rich widow he seduces, he abuses his stepson, and his behaviour is so disgraceful that he alienates all of his contacts in high society. 

Viewers will be alienated by him, too, though their feelings towards him will soften by the end. Barry endures perhaps the worst pain that anyone can experience: the loss of a child. His little boy Bryan (David Morley), whom he truly loves and is a good father to, dies in a horse-riding accident in a harrowingly upsetting sequence, and this completely destroys Barry and sows the seeds of his downfall. Nevertheless, by the time he goes back to life on the road as a gambler, he no longer seems to care.

The torment of losing a child is something most wouldn't wish on their worst enemy, so it's impossible not to feel some sympathy for Barry. One more thing: the common accusation that Barry Lyndon is too emotionally distant is one of the most unjustified criticisms any movie has ever received. Bryan's death is arguably one of the most heart-breaking death scenes in all of film.