Man on Existentialism

Man on Fire, released in 2004, is a strikingly simple film to deconstruct beneath the lens of existentialism. Set in Mexico City, in the midst of serial kidnappings, it tells the story of John Creasy, a seasoned assassin who has grown disinterested in life. Through his actions, Creasy finds meaning ascribed to his life as he finds work as a bodyguard for an affluent family’s daughter named Lupita Ramos who is affectionately nicknamed Pita. Immediately, Man on Fire defines Creasy as a character who exists beyond the traditionalism and normalcy of social responsibility, and Creasy feels rejuvenation at becoming a surrogate father for the young girl. His obligation to Pita grows to the point where her eventual kidnapping fills him with such virile rage that he seeks a gratuitously savage vengeance. Despite how ethically questionable his actions ultimately are, Creasy is an existentialist hero for his commitment to his personal values and, in this, he unashamedly takes responsibility for who he is. This unwavering commitment to personal beliefs defines his entire life and his violent actions.

As existentialists oft believe, the individual decides the meaning to his or her life, so its meaning is universally impossible to discern. For existentialists to create value in living, they must create that value themselves and earnestly live in a way that satisfies the conditions of these values wherein actions speak louder than words. The fact that Creasy is a hardened killer is hardly hidden from the audience; however, the audience is sympathetic to him having lost his way, as it were, and rediscovering purpose in life as he grows into a father.

Sartre would applaud this as Creasy has found and further refined his personal meaning in life. Sartre writes through Inez in his play No Exit and reveals “[you] are [your] life and nothing else” (Sartre 44), which is the fundamental crux to Creasy’s character. One cannot truly say whether or not Creasy feels truly apologetic for his brutal past. Furthermore, it is irrelevant because Creasy makes his choice and follows through with it up until he falls unconscious from his bullet wound at the end of the film. Even at that moment, Creasy still seems as though he finds some semblance of peace despite the potentially horrifying circumstances under which he will die. Despite this, he is the culmination of his choices and his actions and he still deems his actions accordant with his established values.

Although Creasy is certainly a killer who already eschews social responsibility for individuality, his devotion to Pita is heartfelt and this is an integral component for his newfound values because he does not talk about his commitment. Instead, Creasy lives it. In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard, who writes as Johannes de Silentio, declares, “In case he who should act were to judge himself according to the result, he would never get to the point of beginning” (12). Subsequently, Creasy was always bound to his eventual demise; however, he never reconsidered his actions based on the potential outcome. Moreover, Creasy is not saving Pita out of his obligation but out of a genuine concern despite being, in many ways, a self-centered protagonist who inadvertently burdened the child with his search for value by idealizing her as the truest meaning to his life. Although Creasy himself most likely did not realize that he was on this hunt, Pita accepts this until she is forced to lose him. Pita’s role in Creasy’s life was to extend the hand that allowed him to escape outright nihilism, symbolized by the gift of a pendant of St. Jude, which is representative of lost causes. As he drops the pendant in his last moments, it is clear that Creasy’s life was lived completely in accordance with his newly established values. He has no regrets despite having fundamentally failed in reuniting with Pita. His life was no longer a ‘lost cause’ but rather one that ultimately satisfies his role as an existentialist.

Works Cited

Kierkegaard, Søren. "A Panegyric Upon Abraham." Fear and Trembling. 1st ed. Virginia: Wilder Publications, 2008. 12-18. Kindle, 2008. Web.

Man on Fire. Dir. Tony Scott and Brian Helgeland. By A. J. Quinell. Perf. Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. 20th Century Fox, 2004. DVD.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit, and Three Other Plays. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Print.