Bryan finally found Marko and brought him back to an isolated spot where he had him all to himself to torture for information. Marko was a spitter. He spat in Bryan’s face each time Bryan asked him a question about the whereabouts of Kim. Bryan simply wiped the spit, shoved a cloth in Marko’s mouth, talked to him some more, electrocuted him some more, asked his question, and removed the cloth from Marko’s mouth to give him a chance to answer. Then would come the spit so vicious and filled with utter contempt.
Who else was watching this scene, hoping that Bryan used a new piece of cloth to wipe his face each time before shoving it in Marko’s mouth? Otherwise, he would have just been re-introducing spit previously collected to his face every time. Better still, why not wear a mask after the first time to protect his face from further spits?
Marko expressed contempt through spitting. But wasn’t this simply a case of him reflecting what Bryan might have felt toward someone who moves through life in the way that he does? Or, perhaps he just had contempt for life and, in turn, for a man who would care for the life of a girl since he did not. Is it possible that he was mirroring sentiments possibly shared by men – that care for- and -respect women – toward men like him? Because for every condition that exists, there exists an equal and opposite condition. This principle is comparable to Isaac Newton‘s ‘Third Law of Motion‘, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – if we assume a simultaneous relationship rather than a causal one between the two forces: action and reaction. The respective attitudes of men like Marko and Bryan, who stand on opposite ends of the situation that brought them face-to-face with one another, were pre-existing. The situation created the potential for confrontation; the confrontation stimulated expression. Marko finally gave up the name ‘Patrice St. Clair’, who had bought the virginal Kim.
Through Bryan Mills, Liam Neeson expressed particular contempt for men who are unevolved in their dealings with the opposite sex. Bryan Mills has no sympathy for men who harm women in the interest of meeting their own needs. It was present in the way he rampaged through the makeshift whorehouse where men visited drugged-up young women whose essences were snuffed out in the course of being useful to these men who cared nothing about the state of the women. It was present in the words he spoke to one of the guards at 10me Apr. Rue De Paradis, when he said:
“If I push one button, thirty agents will be here before you have time to scratch your worthless balls. Now, stop jerking around before I close you down for wasting my time!”
His contempt extends even to a particular expression of male competitiveness used to display power and dominance. We saw this during his visit to Kim’s home. After asking Kim’s stepdad, Stuart (Xander Berkeley), some questions about his business that showed that he’d conducted a background check on him, Stuart responded by asserting that he too had resources of his own, but, before he could say anything more, Bryan snapped at him, saying:
“Now is not the time for dick-measuring, Stuart!” Then he repeated his question.
Besides the fact that Bryan’s spat with Stuart gave him a chance to talk down to Stuart and assume a position of superiority after suffering defeat at Kim’s birthday party when Stuart trumped his gift to Kim with an expensive present, Bryan’s overall show of contempt effectively serves to signal that he is not like these other men. He vehemently rejects these identities of manhood. He is set apart.
When Bryan caught up to St. Clair, the man, haughty in attitude, refused all offers of a negotiation presented by Bryan to take Kim off his hands. He told Bryan:
“This is a very unique business with a very unique clientele. There are no refunds, no returns, no discounts, and no buy-backs.”
Then, as he departed, he flippantly instructed his men to kill Bryan and to do so quietly so as not to disturb his guests. Bryan managed to overcome his would-be killers and went after St. Clair, who, seeing Bryan approach in the distance, began immediately to sing a different tune. He said they could resolve this; he knew how Bryan felt; they should talk; they could work this out. Unfortunately for him, Bryan had no ear for what he had to say. What meaning should he have drawn from Mr Saint Clair’s words now? The man had shown a marked disdain for life that could not be assuaged even by knowledge of their common grounds as fathers to daughters. He had intimated that he was a father, himself. He had two boys and a girl. In that moment, he had come across as sympathetic to Bryan’s plight, but the moment quickly passed as he prioritised business over the personal in these matters. I hesitate to ask if he would want his own daughter in the position that Kim was in, for fear of what his answer might be. Further still, I feel for a daughter who has to grow up and learn that her father was the leader of a human-trafficking enterprise of girls?
Anyway, Bryan was not listening to any of his pleas and had already pumped three bullets into him. All he wanted to know was where he could find his daughter. St. Clair finally provided the information. He told Bryan that there was a boat by the quay and then implored:
“Please understand. It was all business. It wasn’t personal.”
Bryan replied: “It was all personal to me.” Then he shot him five more times before heading off, leaving Mr Saint Clair’s bloodied body to be discovered in the lift by his shocked guests.
On the boat by the quay, Bryan reunited with Ali. They had met back at the trafficked girls’ auction, where Bryan forced Ali to purchase Kim. Their reunion saw them engage in an epic fight. Ali gave Bryan a run for his money, proving himself to be a highly skilled fighter. However, his competency was perceivably reduced by the fact that Bryan fought him with a bullet wound – delivered earlier by Ali, himself – and still went on to beat him. For the audience, there is already an expectation that Bryan would come away from the fight as the victor because by this stage, we’ve seen him send people to meet their makers through gunfire, strangulation, and electrocution, and, all the while, triumphantly showcasing his physicality and prowess in combat. It is a bit of an overkill to want to stress the point by having him beat, whilst carrying a bullet wound, a highly skilled and competent combatant possessing a single-mindedness equal to his own and with the advantage of being in his physical prime compared to Bryan’s own middle-adulthood.
At the time of production, Jalil Naciri, who played Ali, was 37, and Liam Neeson was 56. The film does not explicitly give the ages of the characters they play, but we can infer their relative ages based on their portrayals. As a retired former Green Beret and CIA officer, Bryan’s age corresponds with that of the actor who played him. Ali is a capable and physically fit bodyguard with a strong sense of his ability to physically demolish an opponent. This also is consistent with the actor’s age at the time. How realistic is it that a 56-year-old man beats a 37-year-old man in a physical fight where both are well-trained, determined, and strong?
Daniel J. Levinson’s ‘The Seasons of a Man’s Life’ outlines the psychological structures that shape a man’s identity and purpose. The study places Ali in the early-adulthood period, known as the ‘building’ season, where the individual seeks to build a life structure. Bryan is in middle-adulthood, known as the ‘mastery’ season, where the individual’s purpose is mastery in the structure already established. So, how do we interpret Bryan’s defeat of Ali based on Levinson’s ‘The Season of a Man’s Life‘? Ali is energetic, confident and at the peak of his physical strength, but with an emerging identity where his life structure is still forming, and he fights to show loyalty to power. His purpose and attitude are clearly expressed, where we see him reassure the sheikh, whom he addressed as ‘(Your) Excellency‘, telling him that it was safer for him to be in his room. Sheikh Raman (Nabil Massad) had been drawn out from his cabin by the raucous advancement of Bryan.
“What’s going on?” he had enquired, “Who is it?”
“The girl’s father,” Ali answered. “He wants her back.” Then he added. “I’ll get rid of the dog!”
Such was his confidence. And such was his contempt. Later in the fight, as Bryan has him pinned to the ground, his face is a picture. No way in hell! Over my dead body is this geriatric going to beat me!
On the other hand, as a 56-year-old CIA retiree with “special skills”, Bryan Mills is a veteran. He has spent more time cultivating his techniques, has more experience in reading the opposition, and has better knowledge of sensitive areas on the body. I’m kind of arguing against my initial premise. In this special case, however, a 56-year-old is not precluded from being able to beat a 37-year-old in a physical fight. Also, psychologically, Bryan is internally motivated by a deep desire to protect his daughter. He’s going to get his daughter, and while he may not die trying, you certainly will die trying to stop him.
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