Idea Province

Malcolm McDowell, Grandfather to a Smirking Monster

Last night I saw an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, guest-starring Malcolm McDowell. He plays a billionaire with two adult kids; one is loyal, the other is trying to stop him from re-writing his trust-fund rules. So basically they were rather ordinary people fighting over money, not the sort of kids I’d expect Malcolm McDowell to have.

This is the first time I’ve seen Malcolm McDowell play a father, and it made me long for a movie where McDowell is the progenitor of a rebellious, evil, smart-mouthed, innocent-acting, language-making-up gang leader. He’s too old-looking to be the hero of a movie like If…. or A Clockwork Orange ever again. But he could easily play the grandfather of such heroes.

It would only work if you introduced the characters separately. For instance, if we followed the story of the violent, yet clever and strangely-likable gang member for most of the movie, and then found out later that his dad was Malcolm McDowell.

Or, even better, if we follow Malcolm McDowell’s grandfather, living in a retirement home, playing shuffle-board in Florida, while mentioning his grandson only in passing, with some hint of disappointment. Then in the midpoint crisis, we find out Malcolm McDowell’s grandson is on a violent crime spree, killing, pillaging and smirking while listening to Delibes and speaking a half-Romanian, half-Olde French lingual concoction.

This may not actually be a good idea. No matter how you do it, it will basically be a gimmick. I just didn’t buy that Malcolm McDowell - or even a character he’s playing - could ever have such normal kids.