You are attacking not the actual movie but the genre conventions of film noir, for the most part. And refusing to make yourself a target for the Nazis that just killed someone right in front of you for the thing in question is hardly "petty nonsense."
Also, I agree that that Scarpia Ultimatum is supposed to be disgusting, a demonstration of how the corruption of Casablanca under the Axis creeps through the whole of the system. But the ending is supposed to showcase the Captain realizing that everything isn't justified by the environment he's in and resolving to be a better person. If in your opinion no movie character should ever move beyond the one-note role they've got at the beginning of the film... well, I guess I can see how you'd like NGE so much.
- rimshot*
...Sorry. Low blow.
Haha. Well. The Nazis did not know for a fact he had the letter. No-one had anything but hearsay. And even if that were true, he should’ve been eager to get rid of the thing as quickly as possible. As for the conventions, well, if the convention at the time was that the hero’s Love Interest be significantly younger than him, and if Bogart in that film was what passed for attractive back then, well, then the film just aged horribly. Also, I find it hard to believe that mature, intelligent people, especially people with abundant charisma like Rick, were ever so incredibly childish normally. And people say Shinji is whiny...
As for Renault, well, the main issue with him is that he doesn’t show remorse. There’s no My God, What Have I Done? moment, and a moment like that is crucial when you decide to be more moral because you need it to initiate and motivate the change. He just decided to take an active role in the Resistance, and it’s treated with about as much gravitas as if he resolved to eat healthier or something. The habitual rape (not the Scarpia Ultimatum—note that a cop remarks off-handedly that they got the usual suspects and a girl for him; the ultimatum is fairly disgusting too though) comes across as something entirely separate from his work, something he does just because he’s a horndog. Ironically, given the film’s creator, Chinatown, another film noir handled the themes of rape and pædophilia more accurately, demonstrating the effects it had on the victim and treating the instigator as a completely morally bankrupt person, who still gets that moment when he sees his daughter dead—also, Jake and his Love Interest were much closer in age.
Finally, as for the NGE comment: ironically, I actually think the beginning was a bit week, and when I recommend NGE I tell people who aren’t impressed to wait for episode 4. But, to make a slight detour, there is plenty of Character Development there: Shinji opens up, regresses, then bursts forward even stronger; Rei learn to be a, y’know, person; Asuka suffers a horrific case of Break the Haughty before bouncing back (sort-of); Gendou admits his fuck-ups in EoE; Misato confronts her issues with her father and men in general; Ritsuko takes responsibility for her part in Nerv’s horrifying actions; Kaworu, well, what he goes through is anyone’s guess. I’ve been an Evageek for 11 years now, you wanna come at me, you gotta get your game on! (And also do it on another thread, we’re getting off topic here.)
Spoiler alert: *they have*. Have you *watched* the Twilight Zone? Everyone looks like they've been run over by a truck full of ugly sticks! ;)
Besides, it's not like the Nazis ever cared much for due process. They openly admit that they killed poor Joe in prison earlier. And, if the head of the French Resistance flees the country with his wife, who *also* happens to be the ex-girlfriend of the guy they *think* has the letter... well, I'm sure you can see why base self-preservation is supposed to be a part of his struggle as much as the whole love story thing.
As to Renald... yeah, fair enough. It was supposed to be merely scummy back then, but it comes off even worse now that we've had the better part of a century's worth of civil rights and gender awareness, and if it's not something you can get past, I respect that. It's not my place to tell you what you are and are not supposed to feel on those questions.
I... don’t quite follow. Maybe it’s because I haven’t watched it.
As for the Nazis and due process, well, Rick’s in a Morton's Fork in that situation, because they already suspect him. He might as well do the right thing and make life harder for the Nazis.
This reminds me of another issue: why did Victor go by his real name? He’s a fugitive in a country that’s not quite as neutral as it pretends to be. At the very least I’d expect him to use a pseudonym.
I think your opinion of people back then is a wee bit bleak. Society Marches On, sure, but not as much as not the way we tend to think. Rape has never been seen as completely justified; the attitude has always been ‘And That's Terrible, but...’. That’s why the myth of Jus Primæ Noctis exists: there’s no evidence of it ever having been applied, people just accused other countries of having it or their own ancestors. Maybe we’re somewhat more enlightened today, but I would be really surprised if no-one back then so much as moved uncomfortably in their seats when this was brought up.
Interesting perspective on the film. It's been that long since I've watched it so I am having trouble recollecting a lot of the problematic stuff being pointed out here, but I am tempted to visit the movie again to see if Rick is as bad as is noted. Nice review!
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A film tragically ruined by the lead character holding it together.
The main problem with the film is Rick. A grown man who’s obviously still very favourable towards La Résistance, to say the least (he has games rigged to ensure Germans lose repeatedly—his neutrality borders on Informed Attribute), he acts like a petulant idiot when Ilsa comes into the bar, and, instead of talking to her like a grown man and resolving their issues, he lashes out like no man believably would at 37, and refuses to give her a letter that is extremely valuable for the movement for his own petty nonsense (seriously, her "The Reason You Suck" Speech was spot on, yet barely given attention—she actually apologises for it!). All in all his attitude towards her—recklessly entering an affair with a ‘no questions policy’, clinging to her memory (or rather the idea of her memory—again, he knew next to nothing about her) for a year—would be more believable coming from a young adult, if not a teenager.
Which brings me to my next point: the age gap between Rick and Ilsa is very disturbing. The Lampshade Hanging they put on their May-December Romance (‘Ten years ago? [...] I was having a brace put on my teeth. Where were you?’ ‘Looking for a job’) made me cringe. It was even worse whenever he said, ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.’ I found it hard to believe she was so into him, a man she knew so little about, who was not even particularly attractive—honestly, I am utterly bewildered by the idea that people thought he was attractive and charismatic, especially in that film. Of course, Renault’s liberal use of Scarpia Ultimatum (and implied habitual rape of young women at the beginning of the film) is revolting as well, and it’s hard to believe he could be portrayed positively (or at least have his flaws mostly overlooked), but at least he’s not as idealised as Bogey and his character.
The problem with the film is that had Rick actually acted his age, the film would have been much, much shorter and very dull. And that’s what’s so tragic: everything enjoyable about the film relied on the one character who ruined huge parts of it.
6.8/10