I recently rewatched Home Alone. This time I was particularly struck by two of the characters — the hapless villains Harry and Marv, memorably played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
I think it’s because they remind me of two people I have encountered in real life. Both are bad actors, but one is the ill-intentioned and unknowingly incompetent leader of the duo, and the other is the willfully oblivious follower.
Once you encounter people like this in your own world, the underlying dynamics take on new resonance. Which of the two is more culpable — the amoral yet inept cult leader or the morally lazy acolyte?
I’m leaning toward the latter. The former is beyond saving, so there isn’t really much to talk about. The latter can break your heart, because on some level you believe they could do better.