Line #137 Characters/CloudAtlasTheGhastlyOrdealOfTimothyCavendish


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	!The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (2012)
4
5	[[folder: Timothy Cavendish]]
6	!Timothy Cavendish
7	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cavendish_Timothy_5759.jpg]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I will not be subjected to criminal abuse!"'']]
9	->'''Played By''': Creator/JimBroadbent
10
11	A quirky English publisher on the run from the gangster family of his newest and most popular author, Cavendish finds himself in even worse straits when he unwittingly checks himself into Aurora House in an attempt to escape the debt collectors... only to find himself trapped there.
12
13	* AdaptationalHeroism: His film incarnation lacks most of his novel counterparts' racism, sexism and complaints about modern life - though he's still got a mouth on him.
14	* BadLiar: When attempting to pay back the Hoggins family, he's shown to be one of these in his more desperate attempts to acquire funds; however, his escape attempts from Aurora House reveal that he's a much better liar when given time to prepare.
15	--> '''Timothy Cavendish''': ''You heard correctly, Charles Dickens' own original, authentic writing for sixty thousand pounds. I think that's very fair.''
16	--> '''Other Voice over the phone''': ''But our records indicate that the desk is already accounted for by the Dickens House museum.''
17	--> '''Timothy Cavendish''': ''Okay. What about uh...Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's desk?''
18	--> [the line clicks dead]
19	* BirthmarkOfDestiny: Although the book leaves it unclear as to whether he has the comet or not. Georgette called it "Timbo's Turd", and Cavendish didn't regard it as a comet, but as he is saying this while deliberately dismissing the concept of reincarnations, it's possible he willfully denies it.
20	* BritishStuffiness: Rude, caustic, and often missing political correctness by a country mile, though he gets much nicer towards the end.
21	* DeadpanSnarker: He always has a sarcastic quip or two at hand.
22	* TheExile: Ends his story effectively outcast from London and writing his new novel from a safe haven. For good measure, he explicitly compares himself to Creator/AleksandrSolzhenitsyn, and assures the reader that (in the novel) he will return one day, (in the film) but unlike Solzhenitsyn, he won't be alone...
23	* AFamilyAffair: The main reason his brother put him in a home is him sleeping with his wife Georgette. Not that they had a good relationship before then, mind you.
24	* GrumpyOldMan: Especially in the books, where roughly half his narration seems concerned with how shitty the world is.
25	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's grumpy, arrogant, selfish, and politically incorrect; and although his most jerkish attributes are left out of the film, he's still a bit of a loudmouth - and it still gets him smacked in the face more than once. However, Cavendish still has a few redeeming features. For example, in the book, he expresses admiration for his long-suffering secretary, wondering aloud how she manages to put up with him; while in the film, he goes out of his way to admit a certain degree of self-loathing for his cowardice, and later decides to risk his escape from Aurora house to rescue Mr. Meeks.
26	* TheLancer: Serves as one during the escape of Aurora House; for all his pride, he's there mainly as support for Ernie.
27	* LargeHam: Cavendish rarely does anything without a certain degree of flamboyance, especially when he's pissed off.
28	--> [[ShoutOut Soylent Green is people!]] [[Film/SoylentGreen SOYLENT GREEN]] [[{{Foreshadowing}} IS MAAAAAADE OF PEEEEEOOOOPLLEEE!]]
29	* LovableCoward: Timothy is pretty open in admitting that he's a coward - both in the face of emotional turmoil and in the face of physical violence. All the same, he still manages to salvage a few awkward moments of heroism by submerging his cowardice long enough to help others.
30	* NerdGlasses: Immediately distinguished by his enormous glasses, especially compared to the other Broadbent roles in the film.
31	* NobleBigot: Not present in the film, and Cavendish is clearly unaware of it, but he's quite racist, sexist, classist, and xenophobic, and clearly expects the reader to agree. For example, he considers "reasonable woman" to be an oxymoron.
32	* OhCrap: Prone to these little moments, easily recognized by his wide-eyed gape of horror.
33	** ThisIsGonnaSuck: He does a ''perfectly'' deadpan version of this when he and his compatriots can't find the car keys during their escape from Aurora House.
34	-->'''Cavendish''': ''We're done for.''
35	* PluckyComicRelief: His whole storyline serves as this in both the film and the book - although there are notably more horrific things happening in the book, such as [[spoiler: Nurse Noakes drugging Cavendish to dementia and blaming it on a stroke.]]
36	* TookALevelInBadass: In the first half of the story, he's easily pushed around by the Hoggins brothers and manhandled by the Aurora House staff; in the second, he not only takes part in a scheme to escape, but willingly puts himself at risk to ensure things go according to plan, and actually manages to knock Nurse Noaks to the ground in the getaway.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder: Denholme]]
40	!Denholme Cavendish
41	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Denholme_Cavendish_4416.jpg]]
42	[[caption-width-right:350:''"You can't believe what people will pay to lock up their parents."'']]
43	->'''Played By''': Creator/HughGrant
44
45	Timothy's much wealthier brother, directly responsible for getting Timothy locked up in the retirement house.
46
47	* BigBrotherBully: His relationship with Timothy runs from chilly to downright abusive, though it's not known if their relationship was always this bad.
48	* DeadpanSnarker: Shares this trait with his brother; if anything, his sarcasm is even nastier than Timothy's, as is demonstrated during their conversations.
49	* EvilGenius: Revealed to be part of Nurse Noakes' team, having not only been a principal investor in Aurora House but also having written the tyrannical rules of the nursing home in the first place.
50	* {{Jerkass}}: Just look at what he does to his brother. He's also well aware that Noakes is free with physically hitting the residents and does nothing about it; indeed, he's been profiting off it for years.
51	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Film only; in the book, he dies an ignominious death of a stroke some time after his meeting with Timothy, and it's left up to question whether Denholme was going to leave his brother in the home forever.]]
52	* MorallyBankruptBanker: In the book, he's a former merchant banker, and it's suggested that he's still making money as an investor in the film... and of course, nobody could ever doubt Denholme's morality - or lack thereof.
53	-->'''Timothy''' We're brothers! Don't you have a conscience?
54	-->'''Denholme:''' I sat on the board of a merchant bank for thirty years.
55	* RichesToRags: In the book, Denholme makes it abundantly clear that he simply doesn't have the money to pay for Timothy's emergency with, having lost it during the collapse of his bank. In the film, however, he's apparently still getting by through investments like Aurora House.
56	* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:In the book, he dies of a stroke following his last meeting with Timothy. In the movie, he's a KarmaHoudini.]]
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder: Georgette]]
60	!Georgette
61	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Georgette_4223.jpg]]
62	->'''Played By''': Creator/BenWhishaw
63
64	Denholme's younger wife.
65
66	* CrosscastRole: She's played by the male Ben Whishaw.
67	* AFamilyAffair: With Timothy, her brother-in-law.
68	* ScatterbrainedSenior: The novel reveals that she's quite senile and can barely hold up her end of the conversation.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder: Nurse Noakes]]
72	!Nurse Noakes
73	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nurse_Noakes_2927.jpg]]
74	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am Nurse Noakes. You do not wish to cross me!"'']]
75	->'''Played By''': Creator/HugoWeaving
76
77	The brutish head nurse at the Aurora House.
78
79	* BattleaxeNurse: She's very brutish and harsh, and in the book [[spoiler: drugs Timothy until he gets a stroke]].
80	* BigBad: Of Aurora House.
81	* CreepyMonotone: She always speaks in a very flat tone of voice, which is off-putting.
82	* CrosscastRole: She's actually Creator/HugoWeaving in drag.
83	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first thing we see of her is digging through Cavendish's stuff, before making off with his keys and warning her newest patient that he'll be forced to eat soap powder if he mouths off again - before promptly smacking the shit out of Cavendish when he doesn't take the hint.
84	* {{Expy}}: Of Nurse Ratched, whom she's directly compared to in the book.
85	* ForceFeeding: One common punishment at Aurora House involves having the offender fed soap powder.
86	* {{Jerkass}}: Mean and insensitive at the best of times, both to residents and to dissenting outsiders. [[spoiler: This works against her during the showdown at the pub, when her insistence on recapturing the runaways only antagonizes the mob.]]
87	* KickTheDog: Smacking Cavendish around on his first day, having rulebreakers caned or forcefed soap powder, and in the book, [[spoiler: drugging Cavendish into a stroke.]]
88	* LargeAndInCharge: She's an intimidatingly large lady.
89	* TranquilFury: Noakes' eerie monotone actually seems to get even ''flatter'' when she's pissed off. Perfect example when she finds Cavendish and the other escapees hiding out at a bar.
90	--> '''Nurse Noakes''': ''Ohhh.... You are going to be sorry in ways you cannot even imagine!''
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder: "Dusty" Hoggins]]
94	!Dermot "Dusty" Hoggins
95	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dermot_Hoggins_2037.jpg]]
96	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Now ''that's'' an ending that is flat and inane beyond belief!"'']]
97	->'''Played By''': Creator/TomHanks
98	->'''Dubbed By:''' Creator/JeanPhilippePuymartin (European French)
99
100	A psychotic English criminal-turned-author, who wants the money Cavendish earned through Hoggins' novel ''Knuckle Sandwich''.
101
102	* AxCrazy: He [[spoiler: kills a man for giving him a bad review]].
103	%%BaldOfEvil
104	%%BeardOfEvil
105	* DisproportionateRetribution: Get a bad review? [[spoiler:Murder the critic.]]
106	* DistractedByTheSexy: Briefly. When he sees the Indian Woman (Halle Berry) in the bar, his attention is focused on her rather than what Cavendish is saying. [[spoiler: A nice little hint to when Hoggins and The Woman meet again as Zachry and Meronym.]]
107	* EvilBrit: Despite his actor being American.
108	* {{Gayngster}}: Book only. Timothy Cavendish, while talking about ''Knuckle Sandwich'''s runaway success, mentions that "the homosexuals bought it out of tribal loyalty". ''Knuckle Sandwich'' also contained a description of a certain stall in a men's room at King's Cross where a blowjob can always be obtained for five quid.
109	%%[[GoodScarsEvilScars Evil Scars]]
110	* HotBlooded: He's very eager and loud-mouthed, and [[spoiler: flings a man off the top of a building]] for an extremely petty reason.
111	%%{{Jerkass}}
112	* KnuckleTattoos: Has them, alluding to his criminal past. No wonder his novel's called ''Knuckle Sandwich''.
113	* LargeHam: ''I don't give a fuck what happens when I'm dead; I want people to buy me book '''NOW'''''!
114	* LondonGangster: An unbelievably foul-mouthed thug, obsessed with getting people to buy his novel, and collect the money his publisher owes him, and willing to kill critics if they don't like it.
115	* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: In-universe. See VillainWithGoodPublicity.
116	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: And in spite of Timothy's ''Moby Dick'' analogy, Dermot doesn't give a ''[[SirSwearsALot fuck]]'' about what happens when he's dead.
117	* SirSwearsALot: Count how many times he swears in his scenes. You might lose track.
118	** Between this and his murder of the critic, he's probably the reason why the film got a 15 rating (he's even mentioned on the DVD with his CountryMatters noted as "strong language, once very strong").
119	* SmallRoleBigImpact: His part in Cavendish's narrative ends shortly after it begins when he [[spoiler: throws a book critic to his death]] and is promptly sent to prison over it. However, this act essentially kick-starts the entire story.
120	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: His book starts selling like hotcakes after [[spoiler: killing the critic]] and Hoggins becomes a "cult hero" to the public. Doesn't stop the police from putting his ass in prison, though.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder: Mr Meeks]]
124	!Mr. Meeks
125	[[quoteright:204:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloud_atlasMrMeeks_1412.jpg]]
126	[[caption-width-right:204:''"I know! I know!"'']]
127
128	->'''Played By''': Robert Fyfe
129
130	One of the "inmates" at Aurora House, and a member of Cavendish's escape party who seems unable to say anything apart from "I know".
131
132	* CatchPhrase: "I know! I know!"
133	* CloudCuckooLander: Only being able to say "I know, I know!" is only the tip of the iceberg.
134	* EleventhHourRanger: See OOCIsSeriousBusiness.
135	* TheLoad: In the escape of Aurora House.[[spoiler:At First.]]
136	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: When Cavendish is making a run for it, Mr. Meeks says "Don't leave me here!" Cavendish gives a look bewilderment after hearing him saying more than what he usually says.]]
137	** Later, [[spoiler: at the bar, he yells at the top of his lungs to all the patrons in the bar for help against Nurse Noakes and the owners of the car. They happily oblige.]]
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder: Veronica]]
141	!Veronica
142	[[quoteright:132:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CAVeronica_5480.jpg]]
143
144	->'''Played By''': Amanda Walker
145
146	An "inmate" at Aurora House and a member of Cavendish's escape party.
147
148	* CoolOldLady: An amiable old lady with a gift for pickpocketing and aiding escape attempts.
149	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only woman among the four escapees.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Ernie]]
153	!Ernie
154	[[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CAErnie_380.jpg]]
155
156	->'''Played By''': Ralph Riach
157
158	An inmate at Aurora House, and a member of Cavendish's escape party.
159
160	* CoolOldGuy: The real hero of the escape attempt, and one of the more capable members of the group.
161	* GrumpyOldMan: In the book, he's quite surly and stubborn, but ultimately goodhearted.
162	* TheSmartGuy: He's the brains behind the escape attempt.
163	* WeNeedADistraction: Stages one of these with Cavendish by pretending to get into a fight over stolen pudding.
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Highlander]]
167	!Highlander
168	[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CA-TT-11859r_5853.jpg]]
169
170	->'''Played By''': Creator/JimSturgess
171
172	The leader of the angry Scotsmen in the pub where Cavendish and his escape party make a stop.
173
174	* BadassBoast: When [[spoiler: Mr. Meeks expalins his need for help against Nurse Noakes]], he gives us this.
175	--> '''Highlander''': ''Alright pal... We won't let ya down.''
176	* BerserkButton: The English.
177	* DeusExMachina: He helps defeat [[spoiler: Nurse Noakes]] in the massive brawl.
178	* HotBlooded: He's very eager to pick a fight.
179	* ViolentGlaswegian: Directly appealed to as such, in fact, which works in saving the day.
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder: The Hoggins Brothers]]
183	!!Mozza, Jarvis & Eddie Hoggins
184	->'''Played By''': Niall Grieg Fulton, Louis Dempsey & Martin Docherty
185
186	Dermot's vicious brothers who come to Cavendish's home to collect their money.
187
188	%%AxCrazy
189	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the film, we never know if they got their money back or not.
190
191	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / CloudAtlasTheGhastlyOrdealOfTimothyCavendish