The Ending
What did it mean?
shareIt meant Mack may have not been an angel. In fact, he may have been somewhat evil. But he said he would protect the people in that building and did just that. He's not a completely 'good' or 'bad' guy.
I love this movie.
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Wait a minute... who am I here?
It's been a while since I've seen it, but I do remember enjoying it. Very gritty, very real, and it did contain a few scary scenes. Lou Gossett is the man in this! He showed no fear - I loved that. He is what a man should be. Unafraid.
Question though -- what do you mean that he was somewhat evil? I do recall that he was tough to swallow at first for some tenants, but I don't remember any scenes showing a darker side.
Clue me in please.
kev
It's been a long time but I remember the ending clearly. Lou Gossett Jr. opens the front door of the apartment building for an appreciative old lady, and Martin Sheen also exits, still looking shaken. He does give Lou a look to indicate he's stuck between horror and acceptance of the reality of the situation and what Lou's done for everyone in the building.
The Guardian is a great "A Conservative Is A Liberal Who's Been Mugged" movie. Still, if Sheen's character was living in a safe suburbia after this he'd be defending the junkies and criminals with his last breath.
I think it is more "a liberal is a conservative whose been mugged" movie - because
the people are more than ready to relenquish their freedom for security.
You don't understand the addage.
It comes from the fact that liberals tend to think of themselves as being more compassionate and understanding. "Those poor junkies aren't bad people, they just grew up in broken homes and didn't have economic opportunities so they tried drugs as a way to release themselves from the pain of their lives."
Once one of them gets mugged, they no longer give a damn about the poor junkie's hard childhood, they just don't want to get beat over the head with a pipe again.
What I don't understand is how some people can neatly fit all of who they are and what they believe in,in a "label". "Liberal","consevative"...I agree with Chris Rock when he he's conservative or things he thinks he needs to be conservative on and liberal on what he thinks he needs to liberal on.
Chris Rock is a high school drop out. I don't care how rich he is, he's an idiot.
share
great film. LG jnr is outstanding, sheen is very good also.
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Eric C 4 Prez
The "evil" part refers to the movie's somewhat wishy-washy treatment of the character's dark side. It's heavily implied that he trashed the apartment of the owners who didn't install the locks he recommended, then beat up the newsstand guy who didn't back up his cover story.
But the movie doesn't make it clear enough whether he did or didn't do those things.
I suppose an argument could be made that the movie's ambiguity reflects how Sheen's character was deliberately blinding himself to the likelihood that their building's "guardian" was a psycho.
I just thought it was a weaker story if we're left not knowing. More importantly, I felt like the movie was "afraid to go there" when I first saw it. Gossett was fresh off his Oscar win, and while he would almost certainly have relished playing a villain, I felt like the producers didn't want to cross that line.