Hanover Street seemed to have potential with the opening
scene depicting a mildly corny, but entertaining, tête-à-tête between the two
main characters, Lt. David Halloran and Nurse Margaret. Once they entered the
coffee shop, however, it became evident the script was going to be a myriad of
cheesy lines and unrealistic dialogues. Despite the simplicity of this
unfortunate screenplay, within the plots of espionage and romance, there is a
poignant question of the definition of bravery and what it means to be courageous.
When Harrison Ford’s character, Halloran, is first introduced, he is
depicted as a man who is courage is centered on recklessness. A
bomber airplane pilot, he has no fear going into hazardous terrain. Pfeiffer and
Lewis comment upon this, saying: “He is courageous only
because his loneliness prevents him from having a fear of death" (Pfeiffer 95). He is brave because he has nothing to live
for, nothing he cares about. This is a type of courage that is best termed
‘bravado.’ It is not a false courage, but it is a courage somewhat meaningless. He
displays his mettle by taking risky missions for the thrill and back talking to
those in command, as depicted in the first mission we see Halloran embark on. This
derring-do inclined behavior changes once he and Margaret meet. Over tea, they
fall in love. As Pfeiffer and Lewis so aptly put it, "Suffice it to say that from this point, the couple
shares more than crumpets" (Pfeiffer 95). Now that he has love, his life suddenly has
meaning. Halloran is no longer comfortable with risking his life unnecessarily.
Halloran’s initial man-of-action
conduct is what Sellinger thinks connotes bravery. To Sellinger, a hero is
someone who automatically acts, jumping into the fray. He sees himself as “not
that special . . . so damn ordinary.” To realize his dreams of being “dashing”
and “exciting” to his wife, he decides to take the leap and go on a secret
espionage operation. During this mission, Sellinger’s views on bravery are
truly expressed when he says, “The only men who are brave are the frightened
men. Men who aren’t frightened aren’t brave they’re insane. You’re only brave
if you have something to lose and you still try.” Sellinger’s dream of heroism
is realized when, with the help of Halloran, he manages to complete his mission
and successfully shed off his previous self-professed normalcy.
At first Halloran does not
encompass this definition of courageousness, but his courage develops through
the film. His love of Margaret cultivates his heroism, allowing him to grow as
a person. He displays his heroic qualities when he risks his own life, despite
his fear, for the husband of the woman he loves. However, it is in the last
moment of the film, when he ends the affair, that he truly encompasses his new
role as ‘hero.
I agree with your analysis of these characters. I too find that Halloran does not match Sellinger’s definition of heroism. It is obvious that Halloran does not think that he matches this characterization of a hero. He even goes on to explicitly state that his seemingly brave demeanor was the absence of having anything to lose. This is why he did not fear death. In the same light, Sellinger does not acknowledge his own bravery. Although Sellinger has a wife and daughter he volunteers to go on this mission. Once Halloran falls in love with Sellinger’s wife it is clear that even he does not have the type of courage that Sellinger does. Once Halloran acknowledges that he, in fact, has something to lose he takes the cowardly way out of one of his missions by lying about hearing one of his engines malfunctioning. In this sense, Sellinger is more heroic than the seemingly courageous Halloran. Another thing that makes Halloran less of an honorable man is the fact that he would sleep with another man’s wife (granted it was during wartime and tomorrow was never guaranteed) demonstrates a certain level of cowardice. In the end, both of their ideas of heroism rub off on each other for the better.
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