By A.A. Crayley

We’ve had an interesting discussion in our posts about differences between the characters of Holly Martins and Harry Lime in The Third Man. Holly: handsome yet comical and bumbling; kind and courageous yet outcompeted in his quest for love. Harry: seductive, malicious and the powerful winner of Anna’s heart; a master of Vienna’s chaos, able to work every situation to his favour. Harry’s contempt for the world is hidden beneath a veneer of civility; he sacrifices Anna in order to protect himself and his reputation but loses his soul in the process. In comparison, Holly speaks from his heart and sacrifices his own safety to ensure Anna’s wellbeing. He gains true life through love, even though it appears he has failed when Anna walks by him in the final scene.

As I reflected on these characters and moments from the film, I wondered what it was about them that resonated so strongly with me. Why was I, along with other members of the audience, fascinated enough to keep reflecting and comparing two fictional characters from a movie weeks afterward?

I think the answer is in the fact that we have all had experiences with diverse people like Holly and Harry. Everyone has had the experience of seeking love and failing; rejection is not confined to men alone. Women of virtue experience rejection and unrequited love, too. They understand what it is like to be Holly – to be overlooked in favour of someone else, to be betrayed, to be abandoned by friends, to be deceived and disappointed even when one has pure and selfless love to share. They understand the pressure that the world places on them to change, to conform, to abandon their moral convictions in order to fit in – to appear more attractive to men and ‘succeed’ in love.

I once read a newspaper article written by a journalist who described how she met and fell in love with a good man after years of being attracted to ‘bad boys’. Her story was a parallel version of Anna’s, but instead of continuing to love the Harrys of this world, she reached a stage of maturity where she felt ready to love a man like Holly and had the opportunity to do so – a man who wouldn’t be exciting or dashing like Harry but one who was trustworthy and would love her in return. And, as a postscript to her story, she found that this good man was attractive, romantic, exciting and dashing in a way that the ‘bad boys’ could never be.

Poor Holly had a pretty awful time in the movie so I thought he could do with a kind review. When I tried to pin down precisely what makes him attractive, even desirable, to women, here is what I came up with:

1. Holly is trustworthy and seeks to uncover the truth, regardless of the outcome. He is a genuine friend to Harry and tries to convince him of his mistaken contempt for the world while on the ferris wheel. He feels compelled to do this because his outlook is based on the goodness of God and His willingness to forgive us when we’re wrong.
2. Kind and courageous. Holly places Anna first in all things, even when he risks his own safety and reputation. He defends Anna when Harry betrays her to the authorities and urges them to allow her to stay in Vienna.
3. Romantic and thoughtful. Holly’s sincerity is a reflection of his integrity as a man and a human being. He is attentive to Anna, frequently coming to see her and to quietly express his care and concern for her. And he brings her flowers!
4. He sees Anna as an authentic person and respects her. She is real to him: he does not expect her to conform to a fairytale character or attain an impossible ideal. He sees that she tries to hide from him but he remains patient. He tries to accept and forgive her faults, allowing her to walk out of his life in the final scene without a word.
5. Holly knows what he wants with his life, and expresses his intentions without ambiguity. He clearly states his purpose and keeps his message of love constant and reassuring.
6. Holly doesn’t use Anna as a way to get to know her friends. Admittedly, Anna doesn’t have any friends in the movie for us to ascertain this. But we get a strong sense that Holly is only interested in Anna and loves her wholeheartedly.
7. Bumbling good will. Let’s be honest, it’s charming. It’s not about the outcome but about the effort expended in trying to do what’s right, even when we fail. To paraphrase a cartoon drawn by Michael Leunig, it’s better to be married to a goat who eats the wallpaper than a fox who raids the chicken coop.
8. Perhaps because her composure is a complement to his bumbling good will, Holly recognises that Anna is unique and remarkable. He knows that women of quality are rare and difficult to find. He takes his chance with her and puts his faith in God and the future.
9. Holly looks great in a fedora hat.

I believe that good women, deep within, search for a man with some combination of these qualities (fedora optional). We know that there are no guarantees in love, there is a certain je ne sais quoi in the sphere of love and the realms of attraction. But we need to overcome our fears and past hurts if we are to ultimately succeed in our mission. Like Holly, we have to take a chance.

In order to sustain our faith in love, we need to believe that good men like Holly are not mere fiction; they are not superheroes or fairytale princes representing an unattainable ideal; they really do exist! It’s through the ordinary, everyday actions of courageous men like these that we see Christian love in action.