Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Other People's Desires

In the hours that go by between Marty saying goodbye to Clara and our hero finally picking up that phone, Marty's community seems to fall to pieces to prevent him from making that love connection.

When Teresa straight-up tells him not to see Clara anymore, it's partially because her sister's warnings of a lonely end-of-life are echoing in her ears. And when Angie makes fun of how old Clara looks? We wonder if that has anything to do with his own loneliness and fear of losing his playmate.

And even though Catherine herself is only in her fifties, she feels as if she's being put out to pasture, unsure where she belongs now that her work as a wife and mother is done. It's nobody's fault, but it's also everybody's fault: She's kicked out of her home because her son and daughter-in-law need (and deserve, maybe) their own space. Everyone's eager to point fingers, but really, it's no one's fault.

So maybe there's no proper person-villain in this story. Instead it's a more insidious antagonistic force that works against the characters' hopes and dreams. (So maybe it's a little bit more like real life?)