Man on Fire

Man on Fire is a film from 2004 starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. It takes place in Latin America and revolves around the frequent kidnappings that have happened there. The movie starts off by stating that every 60 minutes, someone gets kidnapped, and out of that number, 70 percent of the victims do not survive. 

The main character, Walter Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a retired special operations assassin who worked for the government to counter terrorism. He lives in Mexico City and spends his days consumed by his alcoholism. Because of the frequent kidnappings that happen, many wealthy families in Mexico City are forced to hire bodyguards for their children. 

Creasy is appointed by his friend to be a bodyguard for a little girl from a wealthy family by the name of Pita (Dakota Fanning). She is a sweet girl who means well and tries tirelessly to become friends with her new protector. Locked in his own world of flashbacks and alcohol, Creasy refuses. Soon, however, Pita’s charm cuts through Creasy’s loneliness, and he becomes her biggest ally. In turn, she gives Creasy a reason to live again. Things take a turn for the worst, when Pita gets kidnapped on the way back from her piano lesson, stripping Creasy of his newfound hope. After it becomes apparent that the local police are connected to the kidnappings, Creasy reverts to his old ways. He sets out to kill each and every one of the people involved. Ultimately, Creasy makes the decision to surrender himself in exchange for Pita being returned, and after a heart-wrenching goodbye to Pita, the kidnappers take him away to be killed.

Uptown Girls

Uptown Girls is a comedy from 2003, starring Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning. Molly (Brittany Murphy) is the daughter of a former rock star who was killed, along with his wife in a plane crash, and now lives alone, off her inheritance. Apart from this tragedy, she has everything else a girl could want and lives an extravagant and fun lifestyle in New York City. Though she is initially surrounded by wealth, Molly’s life soon plummets in a downward spiral.

After losing her inheritance, her apartment, Molly’s friend is able to score her a job as a nanny. The job is to look after eight year-old Ray Schleine (Dakota Fanning), whose dad is in a coma, and whose mom is so consumed with work that she is never around. Ray is everything Molly is not: sensible, independent, mature, and grown-up. Compared to Molly, who is spunky, fun-loving, and spontaneous, Ray is more of the adult in the relationship. Ray has gone through nanny after nanny because no one can cope with her, however, Molly is determined to get through to her, and teach Ray how to be a kid, and ditch the adult-like persona that she has. 

The main focus of this film is the juxtaposition of these two drastically different characters’ lifestyles. Molly has pursued an absurd lifestyle in response to the loss of her parents, while Ray has been forced to grow up too fast and be independent, thus assuming a complete adult manner. After annoying one another to no end, these two finally find common ground and each influences the other for the better. Molly is able to bring out Ray’s carefree child side, whereas Ray teaches Molly to become more mature and responsible than she had been previously. These events that unfold cause both characters to arrive at a better, happier life, while developing a touching friendship in the process.