It wouldn’t be fair to say that these are my two very favorite characters in film, but it would be fair to say that they’re close. One is new, one is old, but they’re both very close to my heart. And here… we… go…
Sam from Garden State
“Ooh, great job man! I really thought you were retarded. I mean, you’re better than that Corky kid and he’s actually retarded. If there was a retarded Oscar you would win, hands down, kick his ass!”
Sam is a riddle. She’s not what you expect when you see those angelic eyes and perfect smile, but to me she’s one of the most honest characters to have ever come from Hollywood, which is funny, since she’s basically a pathological liar. The one thing that she’s always honest about is who she is. Everything from Tickle (her security blanket) to how funny she thinks it is that she has to wear a helmet to work, she’s just who she is and she doesn’t apologize for it. All of that is true, but the thing that struck me most about this character from the moment she cam on screen was that she was a whole person, you just didn’t know her that well yet. You knew from the first conversation with Large that she was fascinating, beautiful and deep and you just couldn’t wait to find out more. Sam’s like an old friend for me. She’s like coming home. Which, of course, is the point of the character. Right?
The Joker from The Dark Knight
“You have all these rules, and you think they’ll save you.”
I know. I just heard you all collectively groan. This is true. I loved The Joker in 1989 when he first hit the big screen in my lifetime, but when i saw this new, strange creature that was also The Joker, I new I’d found him: My Joker. Not unlike my other choice today, he’s a whole character that you’re just sitting on the edge of your seat waiting and wondering – terrified – what he’s going to do. He’s not insane, he just has no scruples. He’s smart, he’s cunning and, most of all, he’s dangerous. He’s terror in a capsule. And I love him. Often I will sit down to watch The Dark Knight and find myself skipping through to only watch his scenes. To me, this was the height of movie magic. I’m captivated when he’s on the screen and I just can’t help myself.
