Casablanca Character Profiles

Casablanca Character Profiles

 

Richard Blaine (Rick)-

Rick is the film's protagonist which also owns the café , Rick's Café American. When the audience first meets Rick, he is portrayed as lonely but egotistical as he plays chess alone and sips a glass of whiskey. He protests his freedom and mid-point on all things right from the outset of the film, however, when Ilsa appears in the film he undergoes a considerable change of character. In a flashback of him in Paris, we see Rick deeply in-love with Ilsa and is devastated when she doesn't arrive at the train station to move with him. From that moment on we see the shift in Rick and how he doesn't look back to the past.

 

Ilsa Lund-

She is the wife of Victor Lazlow and the former partner of Richard Blaine. Ilsa is strong willed and stubborn , we see this when she gets offered a visa to leave Casablanca but refuses as she wants to leave with her husband, Lazlow. We see that Lazlow and Lund do not share much affection for one another, however Rick and her do. As an audience we can see into the deeper part of her personality as she shows her being distant and cold in the letter she wrote to Rick.

 

Victor Lazlow-

Victor is Ilsa's husband and a committed politician. He was sent to a concentration camp for his views against the Nazi's but still seems to be eager and devoted to beating them. Victor shows his love for his wife by repeatingly sacrificing his safety for hers, however there is a lack of affection shared between the two of them.

 

Captain Louis Renault-

 Louis plays the role of the police in Casablanca but is very corrupt and doesn't follow protocol. Renault is Lazlow's binary opposite as through out the play Renault is trying to capture and imprison Lazlow. Despite his contradicting manner, Louis is a very loyal to the winning side and to Rick himself.