Writing Great Villains: 3 Archetypes from Nolan, Fincher, and PT Anderson
What separates a truly memorable villain from a forgettable one? While there’s no single recipe for crafting the perfect antagonist, some of the most iconic movie villains of all time share certain defining characteristics that make them complex, compelling, and downright chilling.
From the legendary Joker in The Dark Knight to the sinister John Doe in Se7en and the ruthless oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood, great movie villains leave an indelible mark on audiences long after the credits roll. These are the characters that challenge our heroes, push the boundaries of morality, and force us to confront our own darkest impulses.
In this article, we’ll explore three archetypal approaches to writing unforgettable villains, each with its own unique strengths and strategies. By examining how master filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, and Paul Thomas Anderson have tackled these archetypes, we’ll uncover the secrets to creating truly iconic villains that will captivate and haunt your audience.
The Mirror Villain: Reflecting the Hero’s Flaws
The first archetype we’ll explore is the “Mirror Villain” – a character who serves as a dark reflection of the hero, sharing certain traits, values, or methods while also presenting a twisted, inverted version of the protagonist’s worldview.
Think of Magneto and Professor X in the X-Men films, Kylo Ren and Rey in the Star Wars sequels, or Voldemort and Harry Potter in the wizarding world. These villains are two sides of the same coin, their similarities to the hero making their contrasts all the more stark and compelling.
In Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the Joker functions as a brilliant mirror villain to Batman. Both characters are outsiders, misfits in their own worlds – a kinship the Joker himself points out: “To them, you’re just a freak. Like me. They need you right now, but when they don’t… they’ll cast you out, like a leper.”
But it’s in the way the Joker challenges Batman’s sense of purpose and morality that the mirror villain truly shines. By forcing Batman to choose between saving Rachel or Harvey Dent, the Joker pushes the hero to break his one rule against killing, ultimately driving him to question his very reason for being: “I was meant to inspire good… Not madness. Not death.”
The Joker’s influence even extends to corruption of Harvey Dent himself, transforming the idealistic district attorney into a villainous figure in his own right. Through this process, Nolan explores the fragility of morality and the thin line separating hero from villain.
When writing a mirror villain, remember to assign parallel traits and backstories to the hero and villain, while also determining how the villain will directly challenge the hero’s worldview, ethics, or sense of purpose. This internal conflict is what gives the mirror villain its true power and resonance.
The Looming Threat: Villains Felt More Than Seen
Our next archetype is the “Looming Threat” – a villain whose presence is constant and oppressive, despite being rarely (if ever) seen on screen. These are the ominous, unseen forces that loom over the story, their threat all the more terrifying for being left largely to the imagination.
Examples include the Eye of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, the Zodiac Killer in David Fincher’s Se7en, or the mysterious “It” entity in the horror film It Follows. By keeping the villain mostly off-screen, these stories activate our imaginations, leaving us to envision the horrors they’re capable of based on the aftermath and eyewitness accounts.
In Se7en, writer Andrew Kevin Walker takes this approach with the serial killer John Doe. Out of the entire 132-page script, Doe only appears briefly twice before his grand reveal – Walker’s way of building suspense and dread around an unseen presence.
Instead, we witness the gruesome crime scenes Doe leaves in his wake, from the meticulously arranged bodies to the harrowing accounts of survivors. By withholding Doe’s identity and motives for much of the film, Walker sustains an atmosphere of oppressive tension, our imaginations running wild with the possibilities of who (or what) this villain could be.
As Walker himself explains, “It was in the script that you didn’t see the things happen and that just seemed to me more horrifying to have to sit and imagine what it was like.”
To write an effective looming threat villain:
- Keep them off-screen as much as possible, relying on the aftermath of their actions to build their mythology.
- Incorporate firsthand accounts and perspectives from those who’ve encountered the villain, further stoking the audience’s imagination.
- Leave their motivations and backstory ambiguous for as long as possible, creating anticipation and dread around the big reveal.
By shrouding your villain in mystery and leaving much of their story to the imagination, you’ll craft a pervasive, inescapable threat that will haunt your audience long after the final credits.
The Villain Protagonist: An Antihero’s Descent
Our final archetype is the “Villain Protagonist” – a character who, while ostensibly the story’s hero, exhibits distinctly villainous traits and undergoes a descent into darkness over the course of their journey.
These are the Alex DeLarges of A Clockwork Orange, the Patrick Batemans of American Psycho, the Tony Montanas of Scarface – protagonists who, despite initially earning our sympathy and investment, ultimately embrace their most depraved and destructive impulses.
In Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, we follow the rise and fall of Daniel Plainview, an ambitious oilman whose single-minded pursuit of wealth and power leads to his moral decay. While Plainview begins as a hardworking, self-made man (albeit ruthlessly competitive), his treatment of his adopted son, H.W., and violent outbursts gradually strip away any audience sympathy.
As Anderson explains of his approach, “I was trying to write a movie about fighting families… but at the center of it is this father and son.” It’s Plainview’s complex relationship with H.W. – ostensibly an act of kindness that quickly becomes exploitative – that provides the key to his humanity… and his ultimate monstrosity.
When crafting a villain protagonist, balance is key. You’ll need to give your character enough redeeming qualities and pathos in the early going to hook the audience, while still planting the seeds of their eventual descent. Their inevitable rejection of morality in favor of greed, violence or madness should feel like a tragic inevitability, not a sudden left turn.
Additionally, a complete character arc is essential for a villain protagonist – one that tracks their incremental steps away from sympathy and toward outright villainy. In Plainview’s case, this journey is marked by key moments like abandoning H.W. at a school for the deaf, murdering the man he believes is his brother, and finally exploding in a torrent of abuse and violence against the now-grown H.W. in the film’s climax.
By the end, whatever humanity Plainview may have possessed is utterly extinguished, the character’s pathology laid bare in all its ugliness. It’s a harrowing portrait of how unchecked ambition can curdle into a heart of darkness, making the villain protagonist one of cinema’s most devastating explorations of evil.
Conclusion: Crafting Villains That Will Never Be Forgotten
While the mirror villain, looming threat, and villain protagonist represent three distinct archetypal approaches, all effective movie villains share one core trait: they challenge us. They defy our assumptions, upend our moral certainties, and force us to grapple with the darkest aspects of human nature in ways both captivating and deeply unsettling.
From the Joker’s twisted philosophical ramblings to Doe’s meticulously constructed justifications for his crimes to Plainview’s searing self-denial, the greatest villains aren’t merely obstacles for the hero to overcome. They’re existential funhouse mirrors, reflecting our fears, insecurities and moral contradictions back at us through a distorted, horrifying lens.
By studying and understanding these archetypal approaches, you’ll be better equipped to craft complex, unforgettable villains that leave a lasting impact on your audience. Whether you opt for a mirror villain that epitomizes your hero’s greatest flaws, a looming threat that preys on the imagination, or a protagonist’s tragic fall from grace, there’s no denying the power and importance of great villainy in all forms of storytelling.
After all, as the Joker himself says: “I think you and I are destined to do this forever.” The eternal struggle between hero and villain is one we’ll be exploring through stories until the end of time. The key is to ensure your villains are richly developed, their presence resonating long after the final frame.
Great villains unsettle us, force us to confront the darker aspects of the human condition, and remind us that the line between good and evil is razor-thin. By understanding what makes these iconic antagonists so memorable, you’ll be better equipped to create vibrant, multi-layered villains that will captivate audiences and stand the test of time as all-time greats of cinema villainy.