Film Noir: Character Profiles

Ben Humberstone - "Bobby Dents"

Bobby Dents is a criminal who is responsible for a number of murders relating to the drugs he deals and detectives who caught on to his violent ways. Detective Carter's father (as we are told in the opening narrative) was murdered by Bobby and his crew when he found they were responsible for dealing illegal drugs in the hundreds.

What we learn about Bobby however during this film is that actually he does not commit the crime Bonnie frames him for. This leaves us wondering whether he actually killed Carter's father, or whether Bonnie was in on that too - that would be why she targets him out of all the Detectives because he is more likely to be empowered by his drive for revenge. The rude nature of this character however does nothing for the audience to suspect his innocence - he has no respect for anyone other than himself. This is evident in the way he treats Scarlett and also the Detective when he arrives - he is not afraid of anything.

Bobby is portrayed as the innocent one in comparison to Bonnie at the end, and pitied because he was shot for something he wasn't responsible for. Bonnie is of course a character whose devilish ways are masked by her 'innocence', whereas Bobby never behaves innocently which is why he was easy to pin as guilty.

Bobby, like Detective Carter, is controlled by Bonnie. As the femme fatale, she has twisted both of them using her seductive mannerisms to make sure she comes out with exactly what she wants. Even though Bobby is a criminal and Carter a detective, they both still fall for Bonnie, which shows they are both weakened by the female lure. This gives them something in common, ironically, but also displays the typical nature of Film Noirs where the male character is a very insecure and weak person, despite their usual performance of strong, exterior emotions.

I think Ben is very strong looking guy and so to be able to play someone like Bobby this is perfect. Ben is a very good actor and despite his kind nature will be able to play this role with ease i'm sure!