I would agree with the person who said Alex, from A Clockwork Orange. Why, I’m not sure, but it probably doesn’t hurt that Malcolm McDowell is so hot.
Frankenfurter from Rocky Horror would count as well, I guess, depending on what you believe he does with Brad and Janet before they figure out who he is.
There’s a character in a Poppy Z. Brite book–I think it’s Drawing Blood, but it may have been Lost Souls–who rapes his girlfriend. He’s the protagonist. He’s not real pleased with himself for what he’s done.
Daniel
We didn’t forget him. He’s mentioned in eight posts on the first page of this thread.
Hey, I just thought of another maybe: the main character of the novel The Collector, which is a book-length examination of Stockholm Syndrome.
I call it a “maybe” because I don’t remember if he actually had sex with his captive.
Robert De Niro’s character, Noodles, in Once Upon A Time In America. Definitely sympathetic yet rapes one woman and almost two (the chauffeur pulls him off before he can complete the act).
Quite. I mean, where’s the indignation for all the needy folks in Casablanca who couldn’t get themselves a ticket home by putting out for Renault, and against the hot women who could use their sexuality to leapfrog the queue?
I saw Alex as a psychotic thug. If I met him in a dark alley I would shoot him dead without hesitation, whether he showed any intent to attack me immediately or not. Sympathetic? How in hell does anyone get that?
Once again, not a sympathetic character. The author makes it perfectly clear that Ferdy, the main character is a psychopath, with little or not ability to relate to others as human beings.
I can’t really explain it, since I haven’t figured it out myself. Best I can do is: The story is so interesting that you become caught up in the goals and desires of the protagonist. Furthermore, the story is set in a world which is somewhat different from our own (I’m talking the movie, mostly), so there’s some distance there. Maybe the cartoonish quality of the violence as well. A giant ceramic weenie as a murder weapon, for example.
Almodóvar’s Talk to Her. Though the rapist is arguably ultimately presented as more pathetic than anything else.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! may also qualify, but it’s ages since I’ve seen it and I don’t recall the exact details.
Oh me, me, I said that!
I’m not sure if I like him or not. It honestly varies. But him being cute, yeah, it’s a plus.
Maybe it’s seeing him in such pain after his programming? He definitely gains some sympathy after the second half.
Re: Collector, I reread it last year and I do remember her consenting to sex with him (Miranda, I mean) because she’s trying to get him to free her. I’d say they’re both sympathetic characters–the first half of the book (and then some) is from his point of view, after all. Even though we’re probably supposed to think he’s sick/disturbed for what he does, at the same time, I think we do find ourselves wanting him to be okay (in the parts where he’s narrating)–big part of what makes it seem so perverse.
He’ll be discussing his plans and they’ll seem so twisted, yet it’s hard not to get caught up in it all when it’s the main character doing it.
My first thoughts as well. I think there was also another one of those on As the World Turns and Guiding Light, too.
Hopefully it doesn’t happen much anymore, but due to bad planning and/or bad writing (or inexplicably good writing and acting as compared to the rest of the characters) the rapist on a soap ended up being more relatable and likeable than the non-criminals.
I was watching OLTL during the beginning of the Todd Manning years - the actor who played him was better than many of the other actors on the screen (including the victim) and he had great chemistry with a lot of the leads on the show. The character was also (at the start) interesting and then people started to tune in to see what he would do, and once that happens - you can’t just send him off to prison (as there’s no screen time in solitary)…so, they started “transforming” him.
I wouldn’t consider him sympathetic.
Arguably, Harrison Ford in Blade Runner. At one point the android girl is in his apartment and trying to get away from him: he physically prevents her from leaving, then presses her up against a wall and kisses her. It’s not entirely clear at what point in the following seduction she acquiesces to his attentions, or whether she’s acquiescing out of desire, terror, or some mixture of the two. It’s a creepy scene.
Daniel
Dang it! I opened this thread to contribute Thomas Covenant, then I thought “At least I can mention Noodles.”
But was he really sympathetic? He was definitely the protagonist, but he was a pretty mean sumbitch. He didn’t find redemption until he was an old man.
Spoil my failing memory - it’s been a long time since I watched. How did Noodles find redemption?
I honestly can’t see how people can state that Rhett raped Scarlett. It ain’t rape if she, you know, wants to have sex with him.
He pretty much gave up his life of crime. In his youth he may well have killed Max for a pile of money. In his old age, he refused, and was willing to let Max face the law.
I don’t see how you wouldn’t consider it rape. He overpowers her and forces her off to bed. But I know it was mentioned in a thread on romantic moments, so I guess YMMV.