On The Waterfront: "I coulda been somebody. Instead of a bum."

That quote has been staying inside my mind since the first time I watched On The Waterfront. It is so great to watch an old movie of Marlon Brando which earned him an Oscar for the best actor. On The Waterfront is the movie about corruption, manipulation and revenge of a society where all the union took control but behind is a mobster. Marlon Brando was such a great actor when he could transform himself into every difficult character by not only through the lines but also through his act. I used to watch The Godfather and A Streetcar Named Desire, but On The Waterfront with Terry character was one of his greatest performances.

Source: IMDb

In the scene between Charley (played by Rod Steiger) and Terry in the car, Charley followed the order of Friendly to take care of Terry. Of course, Charley did not want to hurt his brother. Charley offered him another job but Terry refused and Charley threatened Terry with a gun. Hopelessly to convince his brother, Charley and Terry had a conversation brother to brother. Now, at that moment, I noticed that Charley had changed his feeling and his attitude. Before he always stood for Friendly and was loyal but now after what Friendly said, he could not do it and may be that he recognized Friendly was just a mobster. Terry was his brother, his family and he could not hurt Terry. The tough guy like Charley when held the gun against Terry could not pull the trigger because the love of Terry to his brother had changed him. It was not about a new job or testimony against Friendly. It was about what both of them could have become if they had chosen the right way. Terry blamed his brother of how he was right now. A bum not a professional boxer. If it was not a fixed fight, his career would be shone and glorious. “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody. Instead of a bum…” Marlon Brando had shown through his eyes of disappointment, of his failure and of his old dream which would never come true. His deep voice was also an element in this scene. His voice was so sad and so firm because he felt sorry for his brother who was being blindfolded by Friendly. Terry could be somebody important, someone in the highest position of professional boxer and he could have been a rich guy of course. In real life, they always say when the chance comes, you must not lose it. Chance of Terry came that night but Charley had destroyed it and brothers had been strangers for a long time even though they met daily.

A character's sociology is an important part of the character. If you watch the movie carefully, you will notice that when Edie dropped her glove and Terry picked it up. It was improvised. Eva actually dropped the glove and Marlon picked up for her. But the unique thing was that they could continue doing the scene without any trouble. That was what an actor should do. Edie was a teacher in training and she was a good Catholic. But she was not like what it seemed. She was brave in a dangerous time after her brother was killed. She cared about her family and she wanted to find out who killed her brother. This character broke the characteristic that a female character should be, which was gentle, girly, more gentle after the death of her brother. She knew that weakness could not help anything. She had to be stronger and she fell for Terry. On the other hand, Terry was a “bum”, a dockworker and a tough guy who was like a mobster. But it was not what he wanted. He was born to be a professional boxer and he could have been like that if Charley did not tell him what to do. Both had break their character to turn into someone new, someone that they would never be the same again. Despite all of those, both characters had the same thing in common that they are both in the working class, not so rich.