MovieChat Forums > Bel Ami (2012) Discussion > Why is Georges seen as the 'bad guy' her...

Why is Georges seen as the 'bad guy' here?


When I have watched a movie, often I go here and checkwhat other people think about the story and characters. I have just watched this movie and I don't understand that Georges is viewed as a bad guy by many people here.

He comes from poverty in a time that that generally meant a life of suffering without any options to get out. Back then, the rich used the poor to a extreme extent, so even if he would have used all those women to his benefit, it would not make him evil. Everyone he supposedly used, could not care less about anyone but themselves.

I also think he really only uses two women, with one of them getting a bad deal. His agreement with Madeleine is a very obvious win-win situation. He also seemed to have genuine feelings towards her. She used him more than he used her. He also had genuine feelings for Clotilde and it seemed he really loved her.

Suzanne seemed to be in love with him and she had to marry someone anyway, so for her it is probably a pretty good deal, but he did use her. And he was a real dick to Valerie. In that sense he showed to go pretty far to stay out of a life of suffering himself, but I don't think he went too far or that made him a bad person.

reply

I believe it was a challenge for some to connect with the film as it wasn't a clear cut "bad" guy or "good" guy role. There were elements of both in all of the characters. I think that made it interesting.

reply

He did do some very crappy things:

--To get out of his marriage to Madeleine, because he'd rather be super-rich than rich, he publicly exposed her as an adultress (when he was cheating, too).

--He pursued the teenage daughter of a woman whose heart was broken by him. He quickly "eloped" with the daughter to make any objections a moot point. Suzanne may like him now, but she is very young (as Georges knows) and is having an infatuation. She might regret her decision in just a few weeks but is stuck with him for life.

reply