hecklongtree

Must a movie protagonist be likable?

That a protagonist should be likable is one of the shibboleths of modern Hollywood. In "Save the Cat" ( a popular screenwriting primer) Blake Snyder actually advocated writing an introductory scene where the main character saves a cat or performs some other good deed.

Of course, Jack Nicholson does throw a dog down a laundry chute at the beginning of "As Good as It Gets," but that's before he goes through a thoroughly unconvincing character arc, another Hollywood shibboleth. And, by the way, if you haven't already guessed, the word of the day is shibboleth.

As for me, none of my favorite characters are "cat-savers," to coin a term. They're not warm, approachable characters. They're cat-kickers, Byronic heroes whose brooding demeanor warns others to stay away. They're Heathciff ("Wuthering Heights"), Edward Rochster("Jane Eyre") Edmond Dantes ("Count of Monte Cristo"). It's their unapproachability that makes them intriguing.