“I don’t think I’ve seen a protagonist so completely unlikable as Robert DeNiro’s Gil in The Fan. The whole time I’m watching this, I just wanna punch him. Except not really because punching requires interaction and I don’t wanna have anything to do with him. I’m embarrassed for his kid at the baseball game and at little league. I don’t feel sorry for him being down on his luck, I think it’s well deserved for him being such a bad guy.
DeNiro plays an obsessive baseball fan, who forms a stalker-esque fascination with Wesley Snipes’ slugger. The first half of the film establishes the crazy that is Gil, and the second half things get real. I liked the creepy vibe of the second. Well not like enjoyed that it was creepy, but I do find such things entertaining. I just wish I hadn’t been so turned off by the first half.
I also don’t quite get why things played out the way they did, but I guess the answer is “”because crazy””. Solid performance from DeNiro though. Calling back to his Cape Fear stint. I think I prefer him bad.”