The Big Picture
- Denzel Washington brings depth to Robert McCall’s character in The Equalizer by portraying him as having OCD.
- McCall’s OCD manifests in his observant nature and meticulous habits, adding to his deadly efficiency as a former black ops agent.
- Washington’s portrayal of McCall shows that OCD does not define the character, but rather adds to his complexity as an engaging protagonist.
The action genre has seen a number of major entries, including the John Wick series and The Expendables (which will see its fourth installment hit theaters this September). One of the most underrated film series is The Equalizer. Based on the 1980s television series of the same name, the Equalizer films star Denzel Washington as former black ops agent Robert McCall, who despite his efforts to live a peaceful life ends up utilizing his “particular set of skills” to dispatch the wicked. Washington portrays McCall as a calculating, coldly efficient agent of death. And a large part of that is due to the character element Washington added to McCall — that he lives with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD.
Denzel Washington Decided To Portray Robert McCall as Having OCD
During an interview with the BBC, Denzel Washington talked about how he decided to flesh out McCall’s character more and settled upon adding the layer of OCD given the character’s past. “I started reading about obsession and obsessive-compulsive behavior,” he said. “I developed a backstory for myself that whatever it was he used to do — and I’m glad we don’t say — caused an amount of damage or post-traumatic stress…He’s lost his wife — we don’t quite know why — and it manifests itself in this obsessive-compulsive behavior.”
That behavior manifests itself in the way that McCall observes his surroundings: a person’s shoes, their belongings, the objects surrounding them. McCall is able to take in the details and often utilizes them to deadly effect. But the one element that stands out is McCall’s signature stopwatch. Before each fight scene, McCall will click the timer on his stopwatch and tell his opponent the exact number of seconds it’ll take to dispatch them. What usually follows is a gloriously gruesome and well-choreographed act of violence, courtesy of director Antoine Fuqua. Soon, McCall adds a new wrinkle to his schedule, as he starts to track down and dispose of criminals — including the leaders of a trafficking ring that threaten his newfound friend Alina (Chloe Grace Moretz).
Denzel Washington Properly Portrays the Intricacies of OCD in ‘The Equalizer’
Obsessive compulsive disorder manifests itself in a number of forms. Some of those symptoms include: hypervigilance, impulsivity, ritualistic behavior and social isolation. Throughout The Equalizer, McCall exhibits one or most of these symptoms. He often keeps to himself, whether he’s working at his job at a tool store or reading a book by himself at the local café. As mentioned before, he’s able to pick out details that would escape a normal person’s eye, and build upon that. Finally, he keeps his apartment tidy and almost Spartan. Most of this stems from him mourning the loss of his wife, as well as the dangers of his previous occupation, but it’s also a testament to the level of detail that Washington put into his performance.
The most refreshing thing about Washington’s portrayal is that it doesn’t portray McCall’s OCD as a “superpower” or exaggerate its effect on its protagonist’s life. Too often, a neurological condition will be displayed as giving a character a set of skills that border on the supernatural, or make it a heavy burden upon their lives. The Good Doctor is an example of the former, as Freddie Highmore’s titular surgeon is depicted as having a photographic memory that borders on the psychic.With the latter, The Accountant has Ben Affleck‘s Christian Wolff turn into a deadly killer due to his father teaching him to embrace his triggers rather than deal with them, which raises a whole host of ethical questions. In contrast, The Equalizer shows that while McCall’s OCD is a part of his life, he has learned to live with it. He holds down a job at a hardware store and his edge comes from his military training — not just his ability to improvise with weaponry. In fact, more films could definitely take a page from The Equalizer‘s book when creating a neurodivergent protagonist.
Washington Makes Sure To Make Robert McCall An Engaging Protagonist Above All Else
The fact that Washington makes McCall’s OCD a part of his character, and not his whole character, is a true breath of fresh air — especially when it comes to shaping his character. Too many films have simply been content to not flesh out a character past the basic appearances, which hurts them in the long run. In contrast, the genre films that tend to stand out are the ones that explore all the facets of their characters. Barbie isn’t just standing out because it’s based on a toy; it’s exploring what Barbie and Ken’s roles have been, and how they can outgrow the limits others try to put on them. Black Panther dealt with the titular character’s struggle to be a leader, while confronting the sins of his father and his country’s place in the world.
Likewise, The Equalizer and its sequels feature McCall reconnecting with the world. The first film showcases him going to extreme lengths to protect Alina, and in the end she manages to start a new life thanks to him. This leads McCall to start an online service where he offers to help those who can’t help themselves, in a major nod to the original TV series. Even in the sequels, McCall goes above and beyond to help others. The Equalizer 2 opens with a sequence where he deals bloody retribution to a man who beat one of his Lyft passengers, and The Equalizer 3 pits him against a local gang that terrorizes the residents of a small Italian town where he’s set up base.
In fact, director Antoine Fuqua has said that Washington’s layered performance is what makes McCall such a compelling character. “I think they’re connecting to him because he’s a common man,” he told Collider in an interview. “There’s nothing fancy about him or anything. He seems like somebody you sit down and have a tea with or a friend of yours. He just happens to be a brutal destroyer when it comes time to do that.” In a world of John Wicks and Ethan Hunts, a common man dealing with problems the audience themselves is a rare but welcome sight.
The Equalizer 3 is now playing in theaters.
