Bob or Leo: Who did you have more empathy for?
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werecow2003 — 9 years ago(December 01, 2016 01:19 PM)
Well, Leo is set up from his first scene all the way up to the last written line as an arrogant, narcissistic, unlikable prig, and Bob is basically a harmless, friendly, big child, so it's easy to sympathize with him. Within the confines of the movie, I'd much prefer Bob. He's friendly, easy going, and cheerful in spite of his problems.
However, if this were a realistic situation, Leo would be
totally
within his right to treat Bob the way he does (right up to the point where he becomes violent, of course). In fact, he's much more patient than he needs to be. Bob breaches the doctor-patient relationship several times over, invades his privacy, disrupts his time away from his work, jeopardizes his career, interferes in his family life He's basically a stalker in need of a restraining order. And instead of siding with him, his family picks the side of the stalker. That would be tremendously frustrating. I know people who work with troubled individuals, and it's hard enough to have to do that without taking their issues home with you, especially when you're actually trying to relax, during a particularly stressful time.
I kind of wonder if the way Leo was written has anything to do with the prevalence of scientology in Hollywood, since it's a cult with an anti-psychiatry slant. But maybe that's just my paranoia talking.