Avery

I find i bear a lot of sympathy for him. All thru the movie i see him as a tragic character, maybe THE main tragic character of the whole story.

Yes he is guilty but in a relative sense IMO

We see him at the end of his career, decades after being sullied and bruised by association with the firm. You can almost see how Mitch is an echo of how Avery must have been in his youth, but for whatever reason he was unable to extricate himself way back then, and ended up being dtuck in the firm for life, unhappy, tense, drinking too much, fielding conflict in his marriage, etc. He assuages himself with alcohol and broads while carrying on with a job he doesn't agree with morally. I imagine how years (no, decades) of that could really wear a person down, grind their insides to mush. But instead of mush, as in the weak sense, Avery was more like 'calloused'.

I feel sorry for Avery. His story is a heart breaking one. That final convo with Abby at the condo is an indication of who he really is, who he began as, and that he wasn't really on board with the firm's shennanigan's all along. A sad swan song.


I like Avery. Also I think Hackman was exactly the right one to play him. Can't think of anyone else who could play Avery and make him that sympathetic.


Buzz
11/27/22