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Ode to Omar Little, the Lone Ranger of the streets of Baltimore

2021-09-07T12:13:51.244Z


The character played by Michael K. Williams on 'The Wire' was as nuanced and emotionally deep from his assassin status as a Tony Soprano.


There are fictional characters that are destined to be part of our lives. One of them was Omar Little, played in the series

The Wire

by the recently deceased Michael K. Williams, one of the best actors that American cinema has given in the 21st century. Williams not only played one of those wonderful good baddies on

The Wire,

but also starred in unforgettable badass street survivor roles on other great shows like

Boardwalk Empire

and

The Night Of

.

The same day we learn of the death of Jean-Paul Belmondo, another actor leaves, capable of sneaking into the viewers' souls forever. Williams will go down in history as Omar Little, a fascinating character from

The Wiretan,

full of nuances and emotional depth from his role as a murderer as a

Tony Soprano.

 Like the depressed mobster of

The Sopranos,

Omar Little is a character full of intricacies: with that air of a lonely Robin Hood in the streets, an outlaw in the old West, that virile homosexuality, that bravado above good and evil, that moral code and that phrase, the very essence of what

The Wire

means

,

which says: “

It's all in the game”.

Like the series itself, at the beginning it is a character that takes time to start, something hidden, but with each chapter it does not stop growing until it is an axis around which policemen and traffickers revolve. Their destiny is in the streets and their mission is very simple: rob dealers. In other words, surviving in a world of criminals, where morale is trampled every day and life is worth less than half a dollar. Omar is the lone ranger who hides in buildings that are falling apart, the unscrupulous brave who goes to the very door of the bosses to make things clear, the boy who knows where he comes from and flies into a rage when in an attack they don't respect their grandmother, the kind of weak heart who falls in love with her squire or sacrifices her life to avenge a friend,the man of honor who knows more than the mobster or the lawyer about the rules of the game, the faithful colleague who has a blind man as a confidant and

Cicerone

, the black man who fucks him up when another black cop raised in the streets, like him, tells him, looking into his eyes, the difference between good and evil, between doing something for others or doing it only for himself, with a shotgun under the raincoat. Omar is the depressive and violent street of the suburbs of the United States in its purest form.

I was always one of those who would stand on end when Omar appeared on the streets. With that careless whistling, those cries of "Omar is coming" and children and trapichadores ran out, that gypsy walk with his scarf or hood on his head. So I was fascinated when in season five Omar was Omar and Marlo, the new boss of the corners, was simply Marlo. As in the stories of cowboys and Indians, excellence and respect were earned based on facts, based on everyone knowing your legend. Omar was the best player in the game. But I was no less enthralled when in season three he ran into Brother Mouzone in the alley. To be honest, I saw that scene three times. I remember it as a scene full of lyricism, of an authentic crime novel, with echoes of Hammett and Chandler,Mystery in the alley with Omar's whistling like it's

The Night of the Hunter

, and the cutting edge of the sound of a train in the distance as the lone ranger in the alleys slowly drew his revolver and Brother Mouzone questioned him with his pistol in his hand, his neat suit and his shoes wet in the sewers from Baltimore. The dialogue was wonderful, and the consequences of that momentous encounter were brutal.

It was Omar Little who, moreover, defined better than anyone how things are in Baltimore, and by extension in Western society. The scene in which he is going to testify to the trial, as revenge against Avon and Stringer, is one of the most illustrative scenes in the series. The baddest of the bad guys saying truths like fists, without ever giving up on himself and what he stands for, telling the stupid cop, who does hobbies and cares little about solving problems, like most of his colleagues and bosses, what is the response to an alphabet soup ("In school I loved mythology. It was the best. Seriously," says Omar, about whom an entire mythology revolves on the corners of Baltimore). In that scene you see the role of the judge and the lawyers, all so cynical and pathetic. Also from the jury, laughing thanks to Omar,seeing everything as a simple show, they just lacked the popcorn. And of course, playing it to Bird and Stringer in their face, as they do, but from the back and from their position as leaders of the band. Stringer in his suit, trying to give himself the air of the politician or gangster businessman of another level that he will never become.

That chapter left one of the most memorable lines of the series when Omar Little, with that defiant and crude gesture on Michael K. Williams' scarred face, tells the lawyer in front of the whole room: “I'm just like you, my friend.

I have the shotgun.

You your wallet.

It's part of the game".

With his fabulous role, Michael K. Williams made us believe in Omar Little.

It was like being on the losing side, but with more dignity than any winner. 

Source: elparis

All life articles on 2021-09-07

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