Bob Hoskins, whose death was announced this morning, is likely best known to my generation as the flat foot in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? or Smee in Hook. But I'll always love his turn in Brazil as Spoor, the physical manifestation of stifling bureaucracy. If you've never seen Brazil—a film that no less an authority than Harlan Ellison declared "the finest SF movie ever made"—you really should.* It's about all the subtle ways an intrusive government can monkey with your life and a rather horrifying glimpse into a future in which the regime is involved with everything—even your air ducts.
That's where Spoor comes in. He's arrived to fix the hero's heating ducts. And he won't be dissuaded from completing his task. It is, after all, his job—and he has the full force of the government behind him:
I can't tell you how much I love Hoskins' performance in this scene. He projects a sort of forced friendliness—the wide eyes, the malicious grin—that only those who know they have power over you can muster. The leering look he gives when he decides that the man in the pajamas "has tampered with it." His meltdown when the request for paperwork is thrown back in his face. It's all quite brilliant.
*As it happens, Criterion has an amazing version of the film with multiple edits and an in-depth documentary revealing the studio's attempts to monkey with the ending. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.