Core Post #1: The Look

This is the second time I have seen North by Northwest and I think I enjoyed it even more this second time around.  The main thing I always think about when I'm watching this film is "he can't be a bad guy."  Carry Grant's physical appearance in my eyes makes him a trustworthy man that has nothing to hide.  I also have this belief that because of his looks he will be able to talk his way out of trouble.  In the opening scene where Roger is walking through the city with his secretary he smoothly grabs a cab away from another man claiming the woman is ill.  From that moment on I always think that whatever happens next will go his way, but obviously I'm always wrong.

I think the reason I am used to having the good looking older male figure be trustworthy is because the 2000's has produced many financial movies where the older male character can "do no wrong".  One in example in particular is Arbitrage.  In this film Richard Gere plays a very wealthy man who appears to have his entire life together.  As the story unfolds, we see he has put his business before his family, is cheating on his wife, and has participated in some illegal practices for the success of his business.  Eventually Gere's character in the film goes on a weekend adventure with his mistress which ends fatally with the woman dying in a car crash.  Gere leaves the scene of the crime and immediately calls an employee to come help him.  Theres sufficent evidence to prove that Gere committed the crime, but just through his looks he presents himself as a man who wouldn't do such a thing.

North by Northwest was filmed during a time where there was a constant feel of Suspicion running through the United States.  No one knew who to trust, making even a well-tailored man in a suit a suspect for being a potential spy.  Arbitrage on the other hand was filmed in the center of the financial crisis where the usually honest and trustable wall street employees were now the worst criminals.

In the reading about John Wayne, I feel the author is completely correct in saying his persona on the screen made it very difficult to believe any film that had him failing in the end.  John Wayne's image on and off the screen was one of masculinity, integrity, and power.  His look was a huge part of this image, of course some of his image stemmed just from the way he walked and talked, but is large and sturdy frame gave him such a strong presence that affected audiences.  I believe the same thing happened in Arbitrage with Richard Gere.  Regardless of everything that we saw going wrong in his life, and all the lies we heard him telling, his "look" made it hard to believe that he was capable of such bad things.