Who's the Real Villain? The Devil Wears Prada & 4 Other Movies That Made us Pick the Wrong Side
As we prepare to return to the catwalk with The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-running debate over the original film’s true villain has been reignited.
At first glance, Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly, with her ruthless standards and icy demeanour—not to mention her betrayal of poor Nigel—seems like the most obvious choice. But over time, many people have pointed out that Andrea’s moody, unsupportive boyfriend, Nate, was actually far worse.
The Devil Wears Prada isn’t alone. Plenty of beloved films have steered our sympathies in one direction, only for time—and evolving social perspectives—to put those characters in a far less flattering light. Read on to check out five films, including DWP, that sold one character as the villain, only for the real villain to emerge under more careful scrutiny.
Nate
The Devil Wears Prada goes out of its way to frame Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly as an uncompromising tyrant, in stark contrast to Anne Hathaway’s earnest Andy. But in recent years, more and more fingers have started to point at Andrea’s drab boyfriend Nate (and their entire friend group) as the real villain of the story.
After Andy enters the high-pressure world of fashion as Miranda Priestly’s assistant, her life becomes a relentless series of seemingly impossible tasks. While she intends to survive the year and use her success as a springboard for her career in journalism, the job becomes all-encompassing—and an understanding partner would have provided support at such a time.
Nate, however, responds by sulking and guilt-tripping Andy, and moaning about how much she’s “changed” rather than trying to understand what she’s going through. Their friend group isn’t much better, and they mostly judge her rather than seek to understand her position.
Miranda, for all her flaws, at least is consistent—a woman committed to a creative vision, operating exactly as one might expect at the top of such a cutthroat industry. Nate, however, was just adding to the deadweight, dragging Andrea down.
Daniel (Mrs Doubtfire)
Mrs Doubtfire was one of my favourite childhood films of the 1990s, and gave Robin Williams the perfect platform to showcase his singular charisma and wit. To the film’s credit, it did tackle the tricky subject of divorce touchingly, but those of us who rewatched Mrs Doubtfire as adults couldn’t help but notice the glaring shortcomings of Williams’s Daniel—as both a father and a partner.
Watching Mrs Doubtfire as a kid, it felt clear that Daniel was the fun, creative father, completely devoted to his kids, while Sally Field’s Miranda was the stick in the mud whose inability to relax made her a total buzzkill. But watching this film as an adult, it’s hard to imagine being totally cool with coming home to find your husband in the midst of a birthday party for your child (that he didn’t even tell you about)—complete with farm animals—that destroyed your house and garden, and even alerted the police. Moreover, you just know that behaviour was part of a pattern rather than a one-time offence, so Miranda’s meltdown was completely warranted. Daniel might have been fun, but his inability to be reliable or responsible would have made him a nightmare to be married to.
Tom
While 500 Days of Summer ultimately wanted to convey that two parties in a situationship can have very different experiences, at first glance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Tom Hansen was painted as the heartbroken victim, while Zooey Deschanel’s Summer was the typical “manic pixie dream girl” leading him on.
It wasn’t long before people began to reexamine the film, and especially Tom, with a more critical eye. As it turns out, his character was pretty darn toxic—a fact even Gordon-Levitt himself confirmed in later interviews. Tom basically falls in love with the idea of Summer, and dismisses any evidence that she thinks about their relationship differently—not to mention that she repeatedly insists she was not looking for a serious relationship. Rather than seeing Summer for who she is, Tom clings to a fantasy, and then resents her for not fulfilling it.
Lester
American Beauty is a classic tale of ‘90s suburban malaise that blew audiences and critics away in 1999, and even won Best Picture at the Oscars. But while it still holds up as a great film in many ways, Kevin Spacey’s protagonist Lester Burnham has since undergone some much-needed scrutiny.
The film portrayed Lester as a relatable symbol of suburban burnout who was finally reclaiming his life by doing exactly what he wanted. But watching it now, Lester’s shedding of convention looks a lot more like avoidance wrapped in a midlife crisis than levelling up. Lester’s rebellion doesn’t lead to growth; it leads to him creeping lecherously on a teenage girl and failing to take any accountability for his marriage, career, or personal life.
We can still look critically at Lester’s wife, Carolyn, for the superficial mess she was—as well as Colonel Frank Fitts’s closeted aggression—but the fact remains that Lester is not just flawed, he’s willfully regressive. The film may try to paint him as awakened, but from today’s perspective, he looks a lot more like a sad, cautionary tale.
Nick & Elizabeth
The Parent Trap is one of those feel-good classics, with special significance for children of divorce secretly hoping their parents will reunite. While on its face, Elaine Hendrix’s step-mother-to-be, Meredith Blake, was the clear villain, let’s take a closer look at the parents, Nick and Elizabeth.
Hallie and Annie grew up completely unaware of each other’s existence, since their parents decided to separate them at birth and keep them both in the dark…I guess forever? While a marriage not working out is understandable, not allowing Hallie and Annie the chance to get to know their twin is actually quite cruel. For a film built on charm and nostalgia, that central premise is surprisingly unsettling, and paints Nick and Elizabeth with a much less sympathetic brush.
