He’s definitely played as a tragic villain for the entirety of the film. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m questioning if commenters like this ever watched the movie.
Exactly my thoughts. Yeah, you can argue that he wasn’t aware how his wish would play out in detail but that’s pretty much the only point that redeems him.
He would have had a realistic chance to be with her if he had just actually talked to her in the beginning. Instead he completely ignores the entire concept of consent, uses a supernatural artifact to make her feel things against her will and while she still acts more or less normal, he shows exactly no remorse. He only gets interested in reversing the wish when there are negative consequences for him. He doesn’t care for her feelings at all.
He’s toxic, he comes as close to being a rapist as you can come and the film makes a point of showing us that the real Nikki is still somewhere inside the remote-controlled shell that he has created and is very much not okay with what is happening… How can anyone see him as the victim?
Yeah, that was a wildly poor take from the previous commenter. Even if you only had a fraction more than a superficial glance at the film, the roles are very clear.
Really? I didn’t think it was subtle at all. Even pretty early, when he drives her home and fails to tell her what he thinks about her, I found it pretty obvious that everything that happens to him is a consequence of his own actions. At this point it can still be excused by him being insecure but as soon as he uses the willow, it is very clear that he doesn’t care even a tiny bit about what she wants, he just wants to own her.
The only part he can be excused for is making the wish, imo. It is a reaction born out of his frustration with his lack of confidence, and he doesn’t know that it will really work.
Once it became clear that the wish had a real effect, and he chose to ignore the real Nikki’s suffering and indulge himself in the lie, he became a complete villain.
If he had instead wished for the courage to tell Nikki how he felt, completely different movie.
He’s definitely played as a tragic villain for the entirety of the film. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m questioning if commenters like this ever watched the movie.
Exactly my thoughts. Yeah, you can argue that he wasn’t aware how his wish would play out in detail but that’s pretty much the only point that redeems him.
He would have had a realistic chance to be with her if he had just actually talked to her in the beginning. Instead he completely ignores the entire concept of consent, uses a supernatural artifact to make her feel things against her will and while she still acts more or less normal, he shows exactly no remorse. He only gets interested in reversing the wish when there are negative consequences for him. He doesn’t care for her feelings at all.
He’s toxic, he comes as close to being a rapist as you can come and the film makes a point of showing us that the real Nikki is still somewhere inside the remote-controlled shell that he has created and is very much not okay with what is happening… How can anyone see him as the victim?
He is very much a rapist. Just because he doesn’t understand it as such doesn’t make it not rape. She does not consent.
Yeah, that was a wildly poor take from the previous commenter. Even if you only had a fraction more than a superficial glance at the film, the roles are very clear.
I think the movie was very subtle about these things. It’s 100% there, but if you’re not in the specific mindset to notice then, it’s easy to miss.
Especially if you think wishing a girl loved you should work. If his wish is reasonable, then the rest of the movie is unfair to him.
Really? I didn’t think it was subtle at all. Even pretty early, when he drives her home and fails to tell her what he thinks about her, I found it pretty obvious that everything that happens to him is a consequence of his own actions. At this point it can still be excused by him being insecure but as soon as he uses the willow, it is very clear that he doesn’t care even a tiny bit about what she wants, he just wants to own her.
The only part he can be excused for is making the wish, imo. It is a reaction born out of his frustration with his lack of confidence, and he doesn’t know that it will really work.
Once it became clear that the wish had a real effect, and he chose to ignore the real Nikki’s suffering and indulge himself in the lie, he became a complete villain.
If he had instead wished for the courage to tell Nikki how he felt, completely different movie.
45 year old me thought it was obvious too. But I think 20 year old me wouldn’t have. He was a simp