The Best Thing About Jaws......Quint!

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 1999)

"Jaws" is one of the greatest movies ever made, in my opinion and the entire world's opinion too. It's not only the story that grabs us and has us asking for more, but it's also the characters. Characters in movies like this are usually cardboard-like and one-dimensional because it's an action/suspense/horror flick and the good actors and clever characters are in more serious dramas that usually take home the Oscar for Best Actor/Actress/Picture etc. That isn't the case with "Jaws". This movie has fantastic acting and interesting characters unlike any ever seen in a movie before or since. The best character in the film and probably one of the best ever is Quint, the mean shark hunter. Quint is played by Robert Shaw, a fine actor who has been in a lot of great movies such as "The Sting" and "The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three". His performance in "Jaws" is his greatest achievement. Everything he does from his opening scene (grabbing the city council's attention by scraping his fingers down a blackboard) to his final death scene is wonderful. I can't think of a more enjoyable character to watch in a movie. Even when Quint isn't speaking, his character is through expression. Loud and opinionated, brutal yet poetic....Quint shows us a human being obsessed with a mission and conflicted with events of the past and the modern world around him. It is a character that once existed, but few have ever encountered. Quint's sea songs fill us with pride and spirit: ("Farewell and Adieu To You Fair Spanish Ladies....")Quint's vulgar ocean poems (The poem about 103 year old Mary Lee) give us a feeling of comfort. Quint's brilliant orders that were planned carefully and strategically: ("Hooper!! Starbird!" "Hooper!! Full Throttle!") Quint's magnificent observations, ("You got city hands Mr. Hooper, been counting money all your life.") show us that he is a wise man who has been all over the world and can tell a man's profession simply by glancing at his hands. Up to this point, people think that Quint is just a loud and mean old sea salt with no compassion or character structure. They're all wrong once they see the scene where Quint calmly and quietly tells the story of how he was exposed to sharks during World War 2. It gives Quint character and Spielberg lets Quint take his time in telling the story aboard the "Orca" - the vessel the 3 men go on to kill the shark. By giving him time to tell the story, you are allowing him to create his character and allow the viewer to put two and two together. Now you know why Quint is like that. How ironic is it when Quint's past comes back to haunt him in his final scene? A gripping and marvelous movie....Thanks to Quint.