19. John McClane - Die Hard
As we delightedly cheer on the nonchalant ferocity of John McClane, we rarely reflect on his unhappy situation. Maybe we should. Maybe Die Hard is more than that film what has Alan Rickman being the German bloke. Maybe we should take a moment to feel a great sympathy for the man who, during his attempts to reconcile with his wife, ends up fighting off an elite group of terrorists with questionable accents. I dont envy that situation. I particularly wouldnt want to do it in a thin vest. Imagine terrorists pointing and laughing at my pale and scrawny biceps. Go on, imagine it.
18. Jude Fawley
Based on Thomas Hardys last novel, which was burned and despised for being immoral and depressing, Michael Winterbottoms Jude tells the story of Jude Fawley, a lower-class young man who dreams of going to university and being a great scholar. He doesnt achieve his dream. This isnt necessarily that bad, but then one of his children, believing he is an over-expensive burden to his poor parents, kills himself and his siblings, which causes Judes wife to think God hates them for being unmarried and runs back to the man she used to be married to, but doesnt really like, leaving Jude a broken shell of a man forced to roam this cruel earth alone. Which is sort of bad, really.