Joel and Ethan Coen don't do simple characters. Films like Fargo and the thriller No Country for Old Men are populated with oddballs, con artists, wastrels, and heels, many of whom are the protagonists of their respective films. Even their most unambiguously virtuous characters tend to have some flaw or idiosyncrasy that makes them interesting to watch. The villains in the Coen brothers' movies are rarely cut-and-dried, either.

The antagonists are just as complicated as their heroes and equally compelling. From unpredictable killers to petty criminals and corporate schemers, the Coen brothers have created a unique rogues' gallery filled with corrupt, callous, and murderous characters. Bernie Bernbaum and Jerry Lundegaard perhaps deserve an honorable mention on a list of the 10 best Coen brothers' villains for the sheer chaos they cause, but neither seems self-aware enough to truly be counted as antagonists, no matter how harmful and devious their actions.

The Coen Brothers gifted Hollywood some of the finest films of the last several decades, including the unforgettable, No Country For Old Men.

The Hudsucker Proxy' s Sidney Mussburger isn't your usual villain; he doesn't kill anyone or even break the law — he's more like an Old Hollywood industrialist villain, like Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life or the Duke brothers from Trading Places . He's callous, greedy, and unconcerned with the fates of those he sees as beneath him, rather than a conventionally evil character. Mussburger's main goal is to seize control of the Hudsucker Corporation by any means necessary, and he's perfectly happy to manipulate the guileless Norville Barnes to accomplish this, no matter the consequences for Norwood.

Source link