Film Characters Who Deserve a Second Chance

In defence of....Cal Hockley from Titanic.

Cal Hockley, the heir to a Pittsburgh steel fortune and the handsome fiancé to Rose DeWitt Bukater. Or, as many films fan may prefer to say - the arrogant and cruel man who stands between Rose and Jack's happiness and true love. And when it comes to films which deal in romance then most of us would say, without pause, that we are rooting for true love. And in the case of Titanic, we are most definitely Team Jack and Rose. Or Team Rack as it were...

Anyway! Whilst it could be strongly argued that Cal is a bit of a prat and what he really needs is a good slap and a hard day's work, I am going to propose a counter argument. And that counter argument is that Cal is essentially a well meaning guy and actually he is just a misunderstood man who is deeply in love. The following are reasons and evidence as to why Cal is not the villain that he is made out to be:

1.) He tries to impress Rose

The first time we meet Cal and Rose is as they arrive at the Titanic. Rose gets out the car and immediately makes a disparaging comment about the size of the ship and how she has seen 'bigger.' (Note - I could make a joke about bigger 'ships' here. I won't. But it is tempting...poor Cal). Anyway, while Cal looks excited and happy to be going on the Titanic, Rose pours cold water all over the trip with her unimpressed attitude. But Cal, good guy that he is, takes it all with a pinch of salt and eases tensions between Rose and her mother by quipping, "Your daughter is far too difficult to impress." All with a smile on his face. Does this not suggest that he frequently tries to impress Rose? And I don't know about you but I have no interest in impressing someone I don't really love or care about.

2.) He buys Rose beautiful gifts that support her passions

Whilst unpacking the vast amount of luggage in the luxurious rooms that Cal has booked for them, Rose takes out several paintings. It becomes obvious straight away that Cal has no interest in these paintings and yes it is true that he is slightly disparaging about them (though this disparagement does lead to a pretty funny line - "Something Picasso? He won't amount to a thing." Oh Cal, you joker). However, in spite of not being particularly interested in art himself, he has still purchased all the paintings for Rose because he knows that she loves them (also fully aware that they will have to go on the mantel piece/wall/wherever rich couples put stuff in their house).

3.) The Heart of the Ocean

The impressive fifty-six carat diamond, which later becomes one of the most important elements in the film, starts out as something infinitely simpler and sweeter. And that is as a precious gift given to a woman from a man who is deeply in love with her. In the scene where Cal gives Rose The Heart of the Ocean, he starts out by talking about how he has noticed that Rose has been sad and he doesn't know why. He then goes on to say that he was saving this present for her but he wants to give it to her early to remind her how much he cares for her. He ends by saying "Open your heart to me Rose." Are these all not the actions of a man trying to show how much he cares for and loves Rose? He doesn't quite understand Rose (she is a bit tricky to be fair), but he desperately wants to. And perhaps expensive gifts aren't the way to Rose's heart but Cal is trying in the best way that he knows how, to show her how much she means to him. Cal is a product of his upbringing and environment but he does frequently try to push through Rose's barriers and he makes himself vulnerable in the process.

4.) He risks his life going back to look for Rose

Once it is clear that the Titanic is going down, Cal appears as though he will do anything to ensure his safe exit off the ship and as quickly as possible. Cal is given the opportunity to get into a lifeboat, more than once, but he cannot bring himself to leave without first making sure that Rose is safe and will not be in any danger. Often Cal appears thoroughly selfish and arrogant, but even after Rose has chosen Jack over him, Cal will not let her come to any harm (considering that she slept with another man, it's a wonder that he doesn't push her off the ship himself).

5.) He searches for Rose amongst the survivors

The final time Rose sees Cal is on the crowded deck of the rescue ship Carpathia. Cal sadly looks for Rose amongst the survivors, with a mix of hope and defeat in his eyes. Rose hides from him and he reluctantly leaves. This shows that even after everything, even after breaking his heart and wounding him deeply, Cal is still humane enough to look for his lost love.

6.) His behaviour is perfectly understandable given the circumstances

When you actually stop and think about the series of events that take place on the Titanic, you start to realise that perhaps Cal should be slightly vindicated given what happened. Look at it this way - within a few days of meeting someone, Rose leaves Cal for another man. And yes we know that you cannot help who you fall for and that essentially Rose and Cal aren't right for each other. That being said, you can help how you decide to act upon those feelings. Does Rose sit down and talk to Cal? Does she even do the early twentieth century version of "It's not you, it's me"? Does she heck!

Instead, Rose goes about things in possibly the cruellest way possible - leaving a naked drawing of herself by another man in Cal's safe! It is kind of understandable that Cal was then filled with rage. She not only breaks his heart, she does it in a incredibly humiliating way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would ask you to reconsider Cal Hockley as the so-called villain of Titanic. Yes he was a deeply flawed man but he was also a deeply hurt man, treated badly by the woman he planned to marry. He may have been arrogant and materialistic but he never knew any better. In 1912, societal values and gender politics were quite different, so he wasn't afforded the self awareness and education we have now. Cal Hockley may have been a man who primarily did everything he did to benefit himself, but at some point he also tried to encompass Rose in that. And how can we ever truly call someone a villain for that?