Assignment #2

Character Choice #1: From "I am Sam", Sam, played by Sean Penn.
Sam is a mentally retarded single father who struggles to keep custody of his daughter who is quickly surpassing his intelligence.

When I first saw the movie I was taken by his idiosyncrasies, mainly an obsession with The Beetles and certain phrases like, "nice choice". However, what really pushes the story and makes it heartfelt is the love between his daughter and him. It is incredibly difficult for Sam to do anything out of his ordinary routine, but he steps out in order to keep his daughter. Above all Sam is a failure, and that's why I love him. Again and again he fails, yet he perseveres on his one track mind, expanding it in order to prove he's a suitable father.

Character Choice #2 "On the Waterfront's" Terry Malloy played by Marlon Brando.

Terry Malloy is a washed up, has been boxer who never really got to show the world what he had to offer. He's not a smart man, and he's been hanging around with the wrong crowd for too long. When he was younger Terry had a chance to make a name for himself as a boxer, but the mafia told him to throw the match and ever since then he hasn't had much to live for.

At the beginning of the movie Terry wasn't a very likeable character. In fact, he was naught much more than a wimpy thug. He didn't do anything bad, but he didn't do anything good either. However, as the story progresses you see that he enjoys and values the lives around him. Soon the mafia oversteps their bounds and through union corruption and other types of things people are getting hurt, and Terry is the only one who stands up to the mafia. He regains his self-worth and fights for the rest of the dock workers as well. Perhaps he is an ignorant man, but I think he finds something truly valuable and is willing to take a beating for it.

Character Choice #3 From "Schindler's List" Oskar Schindler played by Liam Neeson

There's a simple premise to Oskar's motivation, and yet an endless complexity. His goal is to stop Nazis from killing Jews, but that is such a difficult task and encompasses so much.

He's different from my other two choices, because he's collected, he's a rich man of power and he's knowledgeable not ignorant. He's similar to the other choices, because he has incredible perseverance, hope and passion. Again and again this movie shows a man who wants to do good, is disciplined and is unafraid to do what he knows is right even in the face of danger.