The 10 Most Iconic Film Characters - 8 and 7

8. Leeloo
I considered replacing this character with a “better performer” when I first put together my list. I mean, come on, let’s face it; Milla Jovovich isn’t an actress. She may appear in numerous movies and grace the covers of film periodicals the world over, but by no means can she be counted among the host of serious actresses that populate the silver screen. However, I decided against replacing her character. In fact, I think she earned her nomination on my list fair and square. The role she played in The 5th Element certainly has all the trappings of an iconic film character: a memorable disposition, popularity among those who viewed the film, and a hint of the cinematically visceral. Spending most of the film performing ridiculously unbelievable stunts, or shamelessly uttering globs of slurred, broken English, one can’t help but be enamored by her caricature. Milla Jovovich may be a laughable actress, but herein lays a character that seems cast explicitly for her unabashedness.
The 5th Element teemed with overblown experiences. From the scene chewing of veteran actor Gary Oldman, to the bombastic drawl of Chris Tucker, this is a film that proudly courts itself an overreaching result of a bad drama class. In such a hostile environment, Jovovich seems timid. Her audacity is far outshined by everyone else “acting” in front of the camera, and for much of the film, her character remains engrained in our minds by the subtle shyness she manages to convey. Yet, in a gaudy ballet that materializes in the second half of the film, her tepidness gives way to a theatrically laughable brawl in which she takes on a gang of alien cronies. Now, when I say laughable, don’t assume that I’m waxing judgmental here. The sheer ridiculousness of the scene, replete with kung-fu trickery and Three Stooges sight-gags, can’t help but be made all the more real by Jovovich’s unsightly acting. It’s here that her character reaches iconic status. When the under-acting of the first half of her character manages to set the scene on fire with celluloid salability, then you can be assured of her iconic place on this list.

7. Gigolo Joe

People who worked closely with Stanley Kubrick before his death often spoke of Gigolo Joe as being a particularly harsh character…that is he was harsh before Spielberg got a hold of him. Stanley Kubrick originally had a much more volatile persona in mind for Gigolo Joe. Wither this meant a character who was embittered by the shackles of humanity, or one who had advanced beyond trivial matters and transcended a world of petty pursuits is beyond you or I. Kubrick never got the chance to realize the character. He left that to the man who had directed films like E.T.
Such ruminations can’t help but be considered in a narrative like this however. Especially since Gigolo Joe turned out to be so much more then the sum of Artificial Intelligence itself. Viewers gobbled him up.
I credit this success to a particularly inspired performance by Jude Law (but I suspect the foundation to be laid by the master himself).
Whatever the case, Gigolo Joe was a character that worked on a number of levels. He boasted the audacity of any Kubrick character, yet the compatibility of every Spielberg character. His glassy porcelain skin and glossy hair translated well on the screen, and his persona was heightened by his hapless, unapologetic excitement.
Take a few scenes into consideration and I think you will agree. Note for one, the widening of his mouth as he rumbles through the unsightly neon tunnel (in the shape of a widened mouth) while on the quest to reach the city. Or take notice of his final remark as he is magnified away by the authorities at the end of the film; “I was. I am!”
Speaking purely for kicks here, Jude Law mastered the giddy wide-eyed enthusiasm of Gigolo Joe and gave viewers a longing for the darker version Kubrick kept to himself. And even though he is a recent character, he is still the best and the most iconic (in my opinion) to come out of a recent Spielberg film.