EDGAR WRIGHT'S CHARACTERS ANALYSIS
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Shaun- Simon Pegg
The first main character of the film is Shaun who is acted by Simon Pegg. Shaun is a 29 year old man slacker that works as an electronics salesman, being disrespected by his co-workers and is a dead end job, Shaun having no direction in his life. Along with his dead end job, he also has a strained relationship with his girlfriend, Liz, and is trying to re-kindle their relationship throughout the film despite the bromance that he has with his best friend, Ed, being called boyfriends throughout the film from how close they are, both living together in the film. Shaun is lazy, useless and a mummy's boy at the beginning of the film but also very snarky and naive in what is happening in the world around him and his friends.
Shaun develops through the film, becoming a bad ass fighter with a cricket bat as his weapon and becomes fairly intelligent by the end of the film; also considered as going crazy when he puts his tie around his forehead. Shaun only wants the best for his relationship with Liz and has a heart of gold throughout the film which is hidden behind his stupidity and his naive tendencies, Shaun wanting to go and save Liz from her flats as well as his own mother. Shaun manages to find direction in his life with the zombie apocalypse, managing to become stronger, more loving and more intelligent throughout the film. Shaun suffers from having no initiative which leads to his girlfriend breaking up with him in the first place, the zombie apocalypse forcing him to take action and fix the broken bonds, Ed being by his side from the very beginning on the film where their roommate, Peter, turns into a zombie.
Ed- Nick Frost
Ed is Shaun's best friend and roommate along with Pete, Ed having even less direction in his life than Shaun and sells weed to gather money, Pete wanting him to move out but Shaun managing to convince him to allow him to stay. Ed is unemployed, the reason why Peter wants him out the house, being a slob that sits on the sofa all day and doesn't clean up. Although Ed is vulgar, annoying and careless in some of his actions throughout the film, he has a heart of gold when it comes to Shaun. Ed is never shown shouting at Shaun although he sits through Shaun's lecture but shouts at some of the other characters, showing how close Shaun and Ed are to each other and can explain why they are called boyfriends by some of the characters in the film.
Although Ed is the most obnoxious of the group he keeps the spirits of others high throughout the film and becomes a bad ass like Shaun, using a shovel as his chosen weapon to fight the zombie apocalypse. Ed shows how much he cares for Shaun when he is caught in the pub and bit, telling them to leave him behind as he becomes a heroic sacrifice, allowing Shaun and Liz to escape to the cellar of the pub. This shows how much he cares about Shaun as he allows his self to die for him, Shaun coming back to rescue him to find him as a zombie. Ed develops through the film, becoming more understanding of the issues around him but is the only one excited at the beginning of the apocalypse, crashing a car purposefully to drive Shaun's step-fathers car instead. He stands by Shaun's side from the very beginning to the very end, showing how loyal he is as a friend hidden behind his annoying and careless attitude, showing their is a deeper meaning to their friendship.
HOT FUZZ
Nicholas Angel- Simon Pegg
Nicholas Angel is a dedicated but humourless police officer, sent to Sandford for making his colleagues in London looking bad in comparison to him. Nicholas is competent, socially inept and by the book, not liking to stray from his ways and takes every crime that the village sees as useless seriously, being stuck in his ways from the London police force. Although Nicholas tries to keep serious throughout the film he is comically serious, making some of the other officers laugh when he is being serious about the situation at hand, having a cold heart that is slowly warmed up by Danny who he is partnered with, both of them being different to each other.
Nicholas has a heart of gold that Danny manages to break, him opening up about his broken relationship from being a police officer, Danny teaching him to have fun. Nicholas opens up to Danny, laughing at him during the pub scene and slowly becoming closer to him, developing a close relationship. He is also highly intelligent, the first of the police officers to realize something is wrong with the town and the first to take action, Danny coming along for the ride and helping him uncover the mystery of the town. Nicholas manages to gain Danny's trust, showing that he is caring for him at the end of the film as his father tries to get him back to the town, Nicholas wanting to get Danny away to somewhere safer, showing that he grows to see Danny as a friend although he hides it throughout the first half of the film.
PC Danny Butter man- Nick Frost
Danny is a police officer in the Sandford police force, his father being in charge of the police force and has taught him to have a sweet tooth, giving him cake often throughout the film. Danny is a happy go-lucky, friendly officer without a bad bone in his body, all of his actions being with good meaning as he hasn't got a bad bone in his body. Although Danny is a little dumb he sees Nicholas as an influence and starts to understand what being a real police officer is like, understanding the rules by the end of the film. Danny wanting to be like a cop in the movies to carry out shoot-outs and car chases, seeing Nicholas as someone who may of experienced these and becoming inspired by him, quoting many of the things that Nicholas teaches him.
By the end of the film Danny gets his wishes, becoming similar to a cop from the movies and once he understands the situation at hand he becomes more bad ass and more clever, managing to understand Nicholas' point of view on the town. Danny is the only character that manages to break Nicholas' hard shoulder, managing to make him laugh when pretending to stab his eye out with a fork and watching movies together, making them become very close as partners and friends. Their friendship shows when he takes a bullet for Nicholas and knocks a lady off of her bike when he is shooting at Nicholas, showing that he becomes very protective over his friend and partner by the end of the film, understanding his issues and why he is so cold as a character.
WORLD'S END
Gary King- Simon Pegg
Gary King is a man who is trapped in his teenage years, being charismatic, persuasive, irresponsible and an alcoholic. Gary returns to his hometown, gathering his old friend group back together in an attempt to complete the pub crawl that they couldn't finish when they were 19. Unlike his friends Gary has stayed in his teenage mentality, persuading his friends to join in although they don't really want to join in but Gary convinces them. Gary still dresses like his teenager self, all in black and Gothic, but is more energetic that his colours of his clothes present him to have.
Gary has had a drug overdose, been involved in a car crash, had a suicide attempt and abused his self with alcohol which can suggest that he was trying to die of alcohol poisoning by completing the pub crawl which allows us to understand him better as a character. Gary becomes a loyal friend throughout the film which his friends never expected from him and has a heart of gold in his actions, his teenage mentality hiding the meaning behind them. Gary becomes a hero in this alien invasion, protecting his friends and standing with them until the very end, being the first to notice the difference in the people around them and in his two friends. Gary and Andy stand up to the aliens at the end, showing the aliens that humans aren't perfect and that they can't just invade the World without their knowledge or without them fighting back.
Andy Knightly- Nick Frost
Andy Knightly was once Gary King's best friend, falling out with him about the 'accident' which is never really explained. It is clear that Andy used to see Gary as someone incredible and powerful but as he has grown he has started to understand how irresponsible Gary is. Andy is the best fighter of the group as he played rugby, being able to take down the aliens quicker than any others in the group apart from Gary. Andy is responsible and a lawyer, having high levels of responsibility in his work and in his family life. Unlike Gary he is married with children and has grown up, seeing Gary as a child since he hasn't grown up like the rest of the group. Andy is the first to realize something is wrong with Gary, following him until the end to reveal his dark past, Andy showing him that he still cares about him.
Andy is sarcastic but has a heart of gold, having major difficulties in his family life, making it hard for him to accept joining Gary on the pub crawl. Once he joins he says that he hasn't drunk for sixteen years which eventually is broken with Gary's persuasion and the alien invasion happening around him, the stress reaching him as he starts to drink; one scene he orders water whereas the others order beer. Throughout the film Andy starts to become friends with Gary again, being the only one to stand by Gary's side at the speech scene until Steven arrives to fight alongside them. Andy also says about Gary being annoying but then continues to say that he is 'his' annoying friend and that they can't take him away from him.
Oliver Chamberlain- Martin Freeman
Oliver is the person with the most responsibility, being a real estate agent with a high ranking. Oliver is friendly but reserved, being easily irritated by Gary's actions and often flips the bird to those that annoy him. Oliver is a phoneaholic and workaholic, always having a Bluetooth headset in his ear, showing his authority, but is still the weaker person in the group. A story that Gary brings up about Oliver is that he had a birthmark in the shape of a '6' on his forehead which he had surgically removed.
Oliver is one of the two in the group to be switched to an alien, being used as a tool to convince Gary, Andy and Steven at the end into believing that letting the aliens take over is the best decision. Oliver is the first of the group to be transitioned into an alien, his doppelganger joining back with the group after he visits the bathroom. His doppelganger, in comparison to Oliver, is too polite and friendly to the whole of the group, the act becoming suspicious as he starts warming up to the idea of the pub crawl, being one of the two to be fully against it, and starts to become too friendly to Gary which gives Gary weird vibes and starts to discover what is going on.
Peter Page- Eddie Marsan
Peter is a cars salesman, married with kids and was the one in the group that was bullied for being the weakest, this being evident as he is the only one out of the group that can't put up a fight. Peter is very meek, easily intimidated and consults his wife before he does anything, his friends all being concerned about him in the life of an adult. Peter is loving and comes from a rich family in comparison to the rest of the group, although being the most soft spoken character of the group.
Peter is the second in the group to be turned into an alien from enacting revenge on his old school bully, Shane. Peter gets to engrossed in with beating up Shane, his violent side showing as he punches him multiple times on the ground which can also show the amount of torment he had as a child. This scene leads to him being turned into an alien, joining back with the group just like Oliver. Peter is one of the two that are more tolerant with Gary, going along with the decision but mostly because he is easily manipulated by those stronger than him mentally.
Steven Prince- Paddy Considine
Steven is the fitness fanatic of the group and the most enthusiastic about the pub crawl that Gary had planned for them. Steven has a career in architectural consulting, showing how much more successful he is in comparison to Gary. Steven is the only one out of the five musketeers, apart from Gary, to have romantic feelings for someone else in the film. Steven is in love with Oliver's sister, Sam, and has been since secondary school as he has never had the courage to speak up about it to her. Steven is also the only one with a completely broken marriage, Andy being the closest in comparison in their marital state.
Although Steven is the one that tolerates Gary the most he is rivals against him when it comes to their feelings about Sam, Steven being the one that gets with Sam in the end of the film. Steven is the only character in the film that offers to be a sacrifice for the others to escape once he is caught but returns during Gary's speech to the controller of the aliens, coming down and standing by their side. Steven is the only character out of the whole Cornetto Trilogy to have survived once they sacrificed their selves to save the others.
BABY DRIVER
Baby (Miles)- Ansel Elgort
Miles, also known as Baby, has a love for music and is the getaway driver of the robbers, being an anti hero who doesn't like violence but can overcome danger and use a gun. Baby is the youngest of the crew, hence the nickname, and has a crush on Debora who is a girl that works as a waitress. Baby is soft spoken and has tinnitus, using music to drown out the ringing in his ears as he drives, allowing the audience to have insight into the character and why he listens to music frequently.
Throughout the film Baby barely talks and is constantly concerned for lives of those around him, growing a close friendship with one of the other robbers called Buddy. Baby is momma's boy, friendly, good hearted, noble and sweet to all those around him, Debora being the main motivation of why he wants to leave the group to start a new life with her, being one of the characters in the show with the most motive out of those in the group.
Debora- Lily James
Debora is a waitress and Baby's romantic interest, being the reason why baby wants to get out of crime and Baby's hope for a new life. Debora is innocent, nice and has a heart of Gold and protects Baby from Buddy although she doesn't like violence.
Darling- Eiza Gonzalez
Darling is an awesome character but impractical, being reckless in fights as her two sub machine guns don't work practically for the missions they wish to carry out. Darling is Buddy's scandalous wife and partner in crime, evil but completely in love with Buddy. Her first appearance on screen is her smiling when the rest are stone-cold, making her stand out from the rest of the group.
Griff- Jon Berthnal
Griff is the bully of the group and mocks Baby constantly, trying to intimidate baby. The audience quickly learn that he is ungrateful and a jerk in comparison to others in the group, his last words speaking about his death before he is never seen again. This in on the nose foreshadowing for this character as he dies after the first heist off screen.
Buddy- Jon Hamm
Buddy is a former wall Street Trader who has joined the team of bank robbers, being the only character to bond with baby over music. Buddy is the most open and friendly but becomes a monster and vengeful for Darling after she is killed, being completely in love with her and driving him to insanity. Buddy goes on a rampage to kill Debora to get revenge against Baby for indirectly causing Darling's death, showing that he is friendly as long as you are on his good side.
References
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