Final Word from Friday, September 29, 2006
The thing that makes a leading man great, according to Burt Reynolds, is the ability to be charming or dangerous as the character demands. Few actors can be both, he said, but John Wayne could. In The Searchers, John Wayne's character belonged neither to the settlers he was fighting with nor the "savages" he was fighting against, but he brilliantly showed alternating emotion and insane violence as his search for a kidnapped white girl progressed. Mirek Topolánek is entering the final days of his quest to form a government. He, too, is torn by the neurotic split inherent in his duty and is trying to find agreement where none can be found. He's neither charming enough nor dangerous enough to do the impossible. Like a dead warrior who is shot between the eyes in an old Indian belief, he'll have to "wander forever between the winds," at least until a suitable leading man is found. [Czech Republic ODS prime minister premier]