4. The Red Dragon
"To me, you are a slug in the sun. You are privy to a great becoming but you recognize nothing. You are an ant in the afterbirth. Before me you rightly tremble. But you owe me more than fear. You owe me awe." Francis Dolarhyde has to be one of the most complex and sad characters in movies. He was a kid who suffered much through his life. Abandoned by his mother, abused by his grandmother, with a facial disfigurement that he thought marked him for lifetime, he had the right components to become a monster. And that monster would be called The Great Red Dragon. A complex creature that was the personification of all the insanity inside Dolarhyde's head, of all of the things he wanted to become. When you're watching the film you can't help but to empathize with the character. And after his life is completely changed by a love interest you actually feel the struggle he is going through, how his world is switched upside down by someone who loved him for who he really was, and not for who he wanted to become. Ralph Fiennes' superb performance as the killer was both compelling and threatening, and Brett Ratner made a really interesting way to show the journey he was going through.