7. Mr. White - Reservoir Dogs
Miramax FilmsThe entire cast of Reservoir dogs could easily fill this list (with the exception of Mr. Blonde) - Tarantino constructed his debut feature film as a deconstruction of how we see characters in heist films. All the gangsters in the film are fitted with stylish suits and classy nicknames, and act with macho bluster for the first extended scene of the film - which surprisingly takes place in a cafe rather than a shoot-out. As the film goes on, the macho fronts these characters put up come falling down one by one until they are just ordinary people caught in an extraordinary circumstance. The most sympathetic of these men in black is Larry Dimmick, A.K.A. Mr. White. His character is essentially the protagonist for the first two thirds of the film, before it dissolves into ensemble material toward the end. Harvey Keitel is the perfect actor to cast for a role like this - hard on the outside, yet extremely rational and honourable on the inside. His constant support of Mr. Orange is a testament to how far this character will go to preserve honesty and level-headed behaviour even when everything is falling apart around them. Mr. White shows the most moral integrity of any character in Reservoir Dogs, particularly in his defense of Mr. Orange and his adherence to old fashioned morality, even if it is slightly skewed by him being a gangster. It is almost impossible not to feel bad when he learns his trust in Mr. Orange was severely misplaced.