Chinatown vs. Casablanca

695 Words3 Pages
Complicated Men The heroes of Chinatown and Casablanca are essentially the same person in different worlds. They have ambiguous morals and are involved with the crime world, but have a secret past that has emotionally hardened them. Casablanca’s Rick Blaine lives in a world shaken by the impacts of WWII where no one can be trusted. On the other hand, Chinatown’s suave private investigator Jake Gittes is living in the shadows of a past mistake that has made him very cynical of others. Rick and Jake, though existing in two different realities, both are weak in the presence of their mysterious femme fatales. In he beginning of Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart plays Rick Blaine as a selfish, bitter American run-away, but by the end, Rick’s hard shell is peeled away to reveal a man who will sacrifice it all in the name of love and honor. Rick is a very standoffish from the start giving off a self-serving attitude. He makes his political neutrality known by not drinking with any customers revealing he “doesn’t stick his neck out for nobody.” Rick not only is uninterested, but he also wants nothing to do with the political dealings playing out around him. Outside of the cafe the world is uncertain, but Rick has created a sheltered atmosphere that emanates warmth and freedom. When Ilsa arrives in Casablanca, her presence alone is enough to break down the emotional walls Rick has protected himself with. In a flash back to Paris, we start to understand some of Rick’s secret past. His face is lighter, happier, and not weighed down by shadows. He is called Richard instead of Rick and is completely committed to Ilsa. When Rick realizes Ilsa is not showing up in the painful train station scene it explains how the young Richard becomes the above-it-all Rick of Casablanca. Though he may appear it, Rick is not cold hearted, but heartbroken. Like many stereotypical detectives,
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