Line #118 Characters/Equilibrium


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7	[[foldercontrol]]
8
9	[[folder:John Preston]]
10	!!John Preston (Creator/ChristianBale)
11	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2c7a8ee208d5d15daf96f8e32729dd9b_8515.jpg]]
12
13	* TheAce: Considered this amongst clerics in combat as well as his ability to find hidden emotional content. Not so much in his ability to actually realise people are feeling though.
14	* BadassLongcoat: The Grammaton Cleric's standard combat outfit is a longcoat.
15	* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou: He is the top Grammaton Cleric, responsible for tracking down and bringing to justice "sense offenders," the opponents of the Tetragrammaton Council, the government of Libria.
16	* FirstTimeFeeling: Hits him ''hard'', not least because, at the time, he's found and is listening to an old vinyl album of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, one of the most tremendously moving pieces of music ever produced by the human species. Even the ''script'' describes this introduction to human emotion as 'unfair'. (But it does a lot to explain his subsequent actions.)
17	* GoodWearsWhite: In the film's climax, Preston dons a completely white clerical ceremonial outfit. This stands out as all the other characters all have worn black, so the fight is him fighting all the black-clothed main villain and his goons.
18	* GunsAkimbo: He almost always wields two guns simultaneously.
19	* TheGunslinger: He's an absolute expert in armed combat and the most lethal gun-wielding character in the film.
20	* TheKingslayer: [[spoiler:He ends up killing [=DuPont=], the real leader of Libria]].
21	* OffhandBackhand: Pretty much any shot Preston makes falls under this trope since GunKata eliminates the need to actually aim.
22	* OneManArmy: Preston. He smashes his way through every obstacle put before him and racks up a massive kill count over the course of the film.
23	* TheOnlyBeliever: Events of the film show that [[spoiler:no other characters in the film who are involved with the regime (with the possible exception of the mooks) actually believe in the propaganda. Partridge has come to reject the philosophy of Libria and quietly rebels against it, Brandt and [=DuPont=] are hypocrites who don't take Prozium themselves and have selfish motivations for running the state, and others like Preston's son aren't truly taking Prozium or killing their emotions, they're just pretending to so that they are left alone by the state.]]
24	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: He goes on a rampage after [[spoiler:[=DuPont=] reveals his deceit]], slaughtering dozens of minions in the hallways. Minus the "[[TranquilFury roaring]]" part, as GunKata requires emotional control.
25	* ShowyInvincibleHero: [[WordOfGod The director]] finds it boring when the villain "gets a few good licks in" on the hero because he has no intention of subverting audience expectations with a [[TheBadGuyWins Bad Guy Wins]] ending, and thus, there's no point in making it seem like the villain has an advantage at all when the result is a foregone conclusion. He ''does'' acknowledge that not everyone likes this approach. And yet, for all Preston's ''physical'' invincibility, he turns out to be incredibly ''emotionally'' vulnerable.
26	%%* SociopathicHero: The film both {{justifie\|dTrope}}s and {{deconstruct\|edTrope}}s this trope via Preston. - ZCE
27	* TheStoic: After starting as one, he quickly turns NotSoStoic as he struggles with having and hiding emotions. He even suffers a HeroicBSOD, but becomes TheStoic again before the final battle.
28	* TranquilFury: Four words: [[spoiler:"No. Not without incident."]] Every single {{Mook\|s}} in his immediate presence dies within one minute, and Preston quietly uses one more shot to shatter [=DuPont=]'s screen.
29	* UnwittingPawn: As it turns out, [[spoiler:he is the first success in trying to locate and destroy the resistance -- [=DuPont=] had been trying for ages to find the source of the resistance by slipping in an inside man... but he found out it would be easier to follow Preston's attempts to contact the resistance.]]
30	* VillainProtagonist: Subverted. He starts as a servant of the Librian government but pulls a HeelFaceTurn.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Mary O'Brien]]
34	!!Mary O' Brien (Creator/EmilyWatson)
35	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bb5e9d24a21a4e122e03be2dfd6acc64_1563.jpg]]
36
37	* MurderByCremation: [[spoiler:She's killed as a sense offender by being burned alive in the Hall of Justice's cremation chambers.]]
38	* InnocentBlueEyes: She has rather distinctive blue eyes and fully embraces her emotions.
39	* LadyInRed: Though she provides ''emotional'' allure, rather than sexual.
40	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives one (with a dose of WhatTheHellHero) to Preston during her interrogation.
41	* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Witnessing her death provides Preston with the impetus to take down the government.]]
42	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Mary is the only female in the main cast.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Andrew Brandt]]
46	!!Andrew Brandt (Creator/TayeDiggs)
47	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/55d8ece67553b0d7563fa94c42257ebb_334.jpg]]
48
49	* BadassLongcoat: Like all Grammaton clerics, this is his signature outfit, doing all his gun kata fights in them.
50	* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Brandt has no problem in ordering the soldiers [[spoiler:to exterminate that dogs in that fence]].
51	* BaldOfEvil: His skull is clean-shaven.
52	* BodyguardingABadass: In the final fight, he guards [=DuPont=] even though [[spoiler:it is clear after Preston cuts off his face]] that [=DuPont=] is a master at GunKata.
53	* CheshireCatGrin: Is constantly smiling even though he's supposedly emotionless. It might be a sign that he's not on Prozium or just indicate that he's so cold-blooded that he doesn't need emotions to smile smugly. In the DVDCommentary, the director reveals that he cast Taye in part for his smile.
54	* DiagonalCut: [[spoiler:How he died, with the front of his skull sliced off by Preston's katana]].
55	* TheDragon: [[spoiler:He's in fact Vice Council [=DuPont=]'s most trusted lieutenant and like his master, is also not using Prozium.]]
56	* LargeHam: Slips into this right after he catches Preston, going on a loud tirade that he's found the infiltrator within the clerical order.
57	* SlasherSmile: He has a big smile while summarily executing sense offenders. This is used to {{foreshadow\|ing}} that [[spoiler:he's off his meds]].
58	* SmugSmiler: This guy is awfully fond of smirking despite supposedly sticking to his dose.
59	* StrawHypocrite: [[spoiler:Both [=DuPont=] and Brandt are off Prozium, but they advocate the prosecution and execution of all sense offenders with fanatic zeal]].
60	* TearOffYourFace: [[spoiler:Preston kills him by slicing his face off with a katana.]]
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Errol Partridge]]
64	!!Errol Partridge (Creator/SeanBean)
65	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cd8f8d5d64d0e21e1bede219d50984d8_617.jpg]]
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67	* CulturedBadass: Reads and quotes from William Butler Yeats's Poem 'Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven'.
68	* DeathByCameo: Sean Bean shows up for [[ChronicallyKilledActor his usual death scene]].
69	* DecoyProtagonist: At first it seems like he would be the hero of the story. This is not an unusual role for Sean Bean, so his casting could be seen as foreshadowing this trope.
70	* ObiWanMoment: He knows he's doomed after Preston finds him and rather than engage in futile fighting or attempts to beg or deal he just quietly raises the poetry book, making sure it will be the last thing he sees.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:[=DuPont=]]]
74	!![=DuPont=] (Creator/AngusMacfadyen)
75	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2dcc6b8d022248ec2b87fcd686d62746_9589.jpg]]
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77	* BigBad: [[spoiler:He's the real leader of the Libria police state, with Father's image being nothing more than a political tool after he died.]]
78	* BoomerangBigot: [[spoiler:Wants to destroy all sense-offenders, despite being one himself.]]
79	* CulturedBadass: He keeps an art collection and reads poetry, quoting Yeats right before the climactic fight. He is also a GunKata [[RankScalesWithAsskicking master]].
80	* DragonInChief: The de facto decision-maker as Father is too old for much of the work required in running their dictatorship. [[spoiler: In actuality, he's the real leader as Father is long dead]].
81	* EvilBrit: If his accent is any indication.
82	* GunsAkimbo: He's a GunKata master.
83	* LectureAsExposition: Is introduced training and lecturing recruits on the {{gun kata}}s.
84	* TheManInFrontOfTheMan: [[spoiler:Libria is ruled by a [[ShadowDictator mysterious figure]] known only as "Father", who delegates much of his authority to Vice Council [=DuPont=], who acts as [[MouthOfSauron "Father's Voice"]]. At the end, it's revealed that Father died several years ago and they've been [[ElCidPloy using his image for propaganda purposes]]. The Council simply elected [=DuPont=] himself to ''de facto'' assume the responsibilities of Father's office.]]
85	-->"Don't look so surprised, Preston. Why should Father [[spoiler:be more real than any other political puppet?]]"
86	* MouthOfSauron: Described as "Father's Voice". Turns out [[spoiler: to be a subversion: the real Father died years before, and [=DuPont=] is actually running things while ''pretending'' to be the Mouth of Sauron]].
87	* OhCrap: [[spoiler: Gets progressively more unnerved as he watches Preston [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge defeat]] each layer of his defenses.]]
88	* RankScalesWithAsskicking: He's one of the greatest masters of GunKata. [[spoiler:He puts up much more of a fight in the climax than his Dragon, Brandt, does.]] This is foreshadowed by [=DuPont=] delivering the exposition about GunKata in the first third of the film, and later by [=DuPont=] talking about the rumor that "one of us, the Cleric" had turned.]]
89	* TheStoic: He's always calm because he doesn't feel any emotions. He's just a lot eerier than the trope is usually played since the topics he usually discusses are brutal repression and mass murder. [[spoiler:Subverted, as he isn't on Prozium.]]
90	* StrawHypocrite: Rules the totalitarian Libria as an oligarch by forcing everyone to suppress their emotions with a drug called Prozium. [[spoiler: When Preston raids his office in the climax, it is decorated with fine art that wasn't incinerated, and [=DuPont=] outright states that he is a Sense Offender himself in a last-ditch appeal to stop Preston from shooting.]]
91	* SuddenlyShouting: When he confronts Preston that a sense offender has infiltrated the Grammaton clerics' ranks, he suddenly shouts "'''''ARE YOU PLAYING WITH ME, CLERIC?!'''''" [[spoiler:This is foreshadowing that [=DuPont=] himself is no longer using Prozium.]]
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Father]]
95	!!Father (Creator/SeanPertwee)
96
97	* BigBrotherIsWatching: The society he built uses very constant surveillance to monitor its subject. Not through having literal surveillance placed everywhere, but by citizens spying on others.
98	* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:He died years ago. [=DuPont=] has since taken on his authority while maintaining the fiction that Father is still in charge.]]
99	* EvilBrit: If his accent is any indication.
100	* ShadowDictator: Inspired by ''1984'', "Father" is the mysterious and omnipresent dictator of Libria. Though we do see broadcasts featuring him, [[spoiler:they are faked, since the original Father died, and Du Pont was chosen to replace him]].
101	* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: He believed removing all human emotions would mean the end of war. He ended up creating something just as bad instead.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Jurgen]]
105	!!Jurgen (Creator/WilliamFichtner)
106	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/24dc5eabaff0a28ee71e78c0db27c13d_6717.jpg]]
107
108	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:He's one of the speech attendants at the beginning of the movie]].
109	* EarlyBirdCameo: Shows up in the audience during a broadcasted speech by The Father early on but only enters the plot halfway through the movie.
110	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Allows Preston to arrest him and other leaders of the resistance in order to get Preston close enough to assassinate Father. Before his execution, he has a satisfied smirk knowing he succeeded.]]
111	* {{Irony}}: He is still on Prozium despite rebelling against the system, while a good number of Libria's officials ''aren't''.
112	* LaResistance: He's the leader of a resistance movement that believes experiencing emotions is worth the danger of war and seeks to overthrow Father's police state.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Seamus]]
116	!!Seamus (Creator/DominicPurcell)
117
118	* LaResistance: He's part of a resistance movement that believes experiencing emotions is worth the danger of war and seeks to overthrow Father's police state.
119	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: [[spoiler:Averted big time.]]
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Grammaton Clerics]]
123	!!Grammaton Clerics
124
125	* ChurchMilitant: Despite serving a secular state, they use the trappings of this trope. Some of the quasi-religious vibes are a bit more subtle: though it also sort of resembles the Nazi swastika, the symbol of the Librian regime is most similar to the type of cross seen on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Jerusalem coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Jerusalem]], or the "decapitated cross" of ''Literature/BraveNewWorld''. Moreover, "Tetragrammaton"[[note]]loosely translated as "the four-letter word", referring to the Hebrew appellation Yod-He-Vau-He, YHVH[[/note]] is a euphemism used to refer to the name of {{God}}.
126	* CulturePolice: They are an elite police force tasked with destroying all art and killing anyone who possesses art. This was because the {{dystopia}}n government was attempting to stabilize society by completely eliminating human emotion (why the government needs an elite GunKata-trained task force to carry this out is [[RuleOfCool never really explained]]).[[note]]It's likely it has to do with the division of power, so that neither the Clerics nor the Sweepers are singularly responsible for the enforcement of the law. Having them separate allows the headman to play them off of each other. Same pattern as in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, the archetypal evil empires.[[/note]]
127	* TheGunslinger: Grammaton Clerics, the foremost and most elite soldier of the Librian regime.
128	* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: The Clerics, who are authorized to carry out neutralizations -- or at least lead firing squads -- against Sense Offenders, and judging from John's protests after his Prozium withdrawal, are allowed to process offenders in any way they see fit.
129	* TheMusketeer: Clerics are trained to use swords in addition to guns and Preston shows his mastery of both in the climax.
130	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / Equilibrium