Family Dynamics

Having been going through the movie in chunks over about two weeks, I've picked up a few things. This is the first of several posts which will detail them, as I come to them and as I put them together in the most cohesive fashion possible.

The first major topic is how the two major family units in the movie act within themselves (which is to say, inter-family interactions within the Thompson and Sackville-Bagg families). (TL:DR at the bottom of the post.)

The Thompsons:

Members: Working father who is always doing something work-related, stay-at-home mother who is trying to keep everything together, son who is slightly depressed and dealing with something he doesn't quite understand.

Robert "Bob" Thompson: This is one of those guys who asks someone who is currently speaking English (albeit with a thick accent and through sobbing) to speak in English. However, when he isn't hard at work on the golf course for his boss or anything even remotely related to that, he is busy immersing himself (superficially) in the culture surrounding him. He knows what to call the police in local slang terms, considers people who aren't himself and his family "foreigners", and seems to really enjoy golf (to be fair, he must if he wanted to be a golf course designer when he grew up). He regards anything even slightly unusual as "weird" and unfit for his son to be around ("Enough weirdness going on around here, no wonder he's having nightmares."), and he considers an "obsession" with vampires to be abnormal. In fact, he is very conditional about his son. He is proud when Tony is interested in golf, his work, or coats of arms, but he is upset (to varying degrees) when Tony's focus is on the undead and his recurring dream, or when he hears that Tony has basically made a fool of himself at school for the umpteenth time since they moved in. Though he does try to convince Tony that he doesn't think the boy is crazy at one point, it plays off as more of an effort to save face so Tony doesn't know what he's been thinking (though Tony can very easily guess). Also spends afternoon tea (which is wife most likely prepared) doing paperwork.

Dottie Thompson: She is a very loving mother, and I suspect (personally) that she is trying to make up for the lack of effort put in by her husband when it comes to Tony. She is considerably more understanding about Tony's nightmares and finds it distasteful to have his "obsession" be brought up in public, perhaps for fear that he will be harshly judged. She sincerely appreciates the works of art his dreams have spawned (and it should be noted that Bob clearly does not), and is generally much more nurturing to Tony throughout the movie. She is also the one to call the cops after their son has been missing for several hours. When it comes to Bob, she is snappish with him in defense of Tony on at least two occasions, the first when they are called home after Tony disappears the first time, and the second during her argument with her husband on Saturday night. I'm starting to wonder if their marriage has hit a few rocks (and conflicts over how to raise kids can be some very big rocks).

Tony Thompson: This poor kid is caught in the middle of an almost unseen struggle between his parents and seems unhappy at home, evinced most clearly when he tells Rudolph that his parents "have their moments" of being nice, which is to say, usually things aren't all sunshine and roses in the Thompson household. Rudolph, with his manners, decides to drop a clearly touchy subject and moves on to what he's going to do for the rest of the night. Compounding Tony's troubles are his recurring dreams about vampires and whatever compels him to discuss these dreams in class when it's plain as day that they contribute to his constantly getting picked on and in trouble with his teachers. To make matters even worse, the movie establishes that he lives in a world that thinks he's a headcase. Therefore, Tony is a bit reclusive, possibly confides chiefly in his mother, and is more than willing to declare a vampire his best friend, after said vampire saved his life, and after that selfsame vampire tried to kill him. Tony is desperately lonely and struggling practically alone in a world that doesn't understand or care to understand his experiences.

The Sackville-Baggs:

Members: strict father of three who does mean well (under a lot), loving wife and mother who is actually quite crafty in getting around her husband, rebellious older brother who still supports family's goal, adventurous younger brother who also supports the cause, and hopeless romantic youngest sister.

Frederick "the Great" Sackville-Bagg: Tall, imposing, aristocratic in bearing and a little bit isolationist in ideology, but he is also highly aware of vampire protocol, especially the protocol he sets for his family. For instance, even though his bloodlust is evident when he first meets Tony, he instead tells Tony to leave. For another case, which is explained in Logic of The Little Vampire Part 2, once it is revealed that Tony has visions and can share them with vampires, no other vampire makes a move to attack Tony, and Frederick even starts to develop trust in the boy. Also, like any father, he is trying to keep his children doing anything harmful to them, including associating with humans who would hunt them down as soon as befriend them, and he is deeply upset because of Rudolph's friendship with Tony and what he believes it has done to the family. But just as often as he comes into conflict with other members of the Sackville-Bagg family (namely his sons), he does everything in his power for the greater good of the family and even blames himself when he feels he's done wrong by his clan, namely when waiting impatiently for Tony and Rudolph to return from their quest for the Stone of Attamon and he states that he "left [their] fate in the hands of two small boys" and declares that he "won't even ask [their] forgiveness. [He doesn't] deserve it." Imperfect though he may be, he is much more aware of it than, say, Bob.

Freda Sackville-Bagg: As strikingly beautiful as she is crafty, she loves her husband and three children and is very similar to Dottie in regard to her relationships with them. The only notable difference is that she and Frederick are closer and have a stronger relationship than the Thompson couple (I suppose being dead for three hundred years does that to you), and she knows what she can get away with when it comes to getting Frederick to change her mind. She doesn't need to be argumentative; she simply needs to drop her voice a little, get close, get the tone just right, and Frederick is puddy in her hands. This same trick works on Robert Thompson later on in the movie, to much greater success.

Gregory Sackville-Bagg: Rebellious, impetuous, and deadly. Personally I don't put it past Gregory to have stolen the clothes he's currently wearing, regardless of his reasons, or being responsible for a few mysterious deaths over the centuries. He either cannot or chooses not to control his bloodlust to the point that he attacks two humans and succeeds in biting one, and for whatever reason, be it that he is sick of being chased around by vampire hunters or that he truly does believe this, he feels that vampires should be taking control of their situation, challenging humans to hunt them down rather than running from them. He allows Rudolph to wordlessly (or nonverbally, as the case may be) berate him when he has a lot on his plate, but he does heed his brother's wishes, especially for Tony's safety. Rudolph is the one to get him to back off Tony, and he succeeds before it ever comes out that Tony is a sympathizer. He also, rather reluctantly, sticks around after Rudolph tells him to and shuts the wicker basket lid on him (which makes me wonder exactly what their dynamic is: did Rudolph turn his brother? Are they just that close? Perhaps Rudolph simply gave him the idea to take the amulet from their father). Just before that, he expresses curiosity/concern about what Rudolph is up to before being essentially shot down. Gregory does take the amulet, and he does the make the Call, proving he does ultimately share his family's goal of regaining their humanity. In short, a rebellious punk kid, older brother, and (semi)dutiful son all rolled into one.

Rudolph Sackville-Bagg: "I was only taking the road less traveled." This one line sums up his entire personality: he spies on humans in efforts to learn their ways, he pokes around potentially dangerous places (such as a castle in which a family has taken up residence), and has his own ideas about where the Stone of Attamon could be (though his father never listens to them). He and his sister Anna are affectionate with each other, and he jokes with her on one occasion (about daywalkers, discussed in the Like Some Daywalker post). He is derisive with his brother when the latter makes a mistake and willing to withhold information from him on a separate occasion altogether, though the latter only accounts for spoken conversation, as vampires are telepathic (for some reason this is treated as a goof, but I'll go into that later). He still manages to be on good terms with his father, though he wanders off on occasion at length enough to worry both of his parents sick to death (again), and he is the first of his family to befriend Tony (after trying to kill him and then saving his life, of course). In fact, he is the reason Tony enters the equation in the first place in terms of the main plot. Without Rudolph, the movie would be about Tony having dreams and being bullied.

Anna Sackville-Bagg: Anna gets away with snide remarks and becoming smitten with Tony upon meeting him (which is treated rather lightly, given she's about seven, appearances-wise), and the former especially indicates that she's the "baby" of the family. She is almost hopelessly romantic, believing in chivalry and giving elaborate declarations of undying love to Tony at every available opportunity, which sets up the perfect opportunity to feel sorry for her: that moment when her brother and the object of her affections essentially walk out in the middle of her recitation of her poem. Still, she perserveres, which speaks to the power of love indeed. Maybe there's something to be said for mental ageing in a case like this.

This turned into a character study of nearly every major character, now that I think back on all this work, though my main focus was originally how they interact with each other within their family units. As that is an extension of an individual's personality, then perhaps this was necessary. In any event, TL:DR version: The Thompsons are fairly solid as a family, with a possibly slightly depressed son who manages to turn his life around on making a friend, a somewhat sketchy marriage, and all the changes that come with moving to the other side of the world. The Sackville-Baggs have been at it longer and are better at it. They each know how the other works and how to circumvent whatever strategies another might use for whatever reason or situation. However, all of them work toward the same goal, and it is one of the key factors that keeps the Sackville-Bagg unit together.