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* AwardSnub: A lot of people felt that James [=McAvoy=] should've been nominated for his strong supporting performance. It did help that [[NiceGuy Forest Whitaker acknowledged]] him in basically every single acceptance speech he made (which was a ''lot'').
* CompleteMonster: Amin eventually turns out to be one. Note "turns out to be", not "becomes"- as his wife Kay says, he was ''always'' a bastard; he just didn't let Nicholas see it until it was too late.
* JerkassWoobie: Nicholas. He's perpetually selfish and conceited. He doesn't seem to care much for neither of the married women he's interested in, beyond fulfilling his lust. However, [[BrokenPedestal finding out that one of your best friends]] is a mass-murdering dictator isn't decent karma. Also, [[spoiler: watching him get tortured is brutal.]]
* NightmareFuel:
** The fate of [[spoiler:Kay]]. Not to mention [[spoiler: Nicholas being tortured, more specifically being hung from meathooks by his nipples]]. Aiyee.
** Amin's gradual VillainousBreakdown becomes increasingly frightening.

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