Casablanca

Before Rick Blaine ever enters the movie, his reputation precedes him as the snobby saloon-keeper that doesn’t drink with customers, ever. The viewer is automatically led to believe that Rick is not a social man-  he doesn’t want to spend time with others, no matter their importance or rank. This impression is not discounted by any means when Rick is eventually shown; he is playing chess by himself, a game usually intended for two. And finally, to solidify his already seemingly narcissistic and cynical mindset, Rick says the line, “I stick my neck out for nobody”. So, within the films first few scenes, Rick isn’t looking much like a romantic, caring man with a woman he adores as shown through his quick-witted yet harsh dialogue, anti-social hobbies, and all around unemotional demeanor… Until the entrance of Miss Ilsa Lund.

From the moment Ilsa and Rick lock eyes for the first time since their stolen days in Paris, Rick is a new man than the one just introduced. Now he is emotional, bitter, and most importantly, he is back to being Richard. He breaks his precedent of never drinking with customers instantly to sit with Ilsa and Laszlo, much to the surprise of Renault. He even goes so far as to say, “Ricky, you’re becoming quite human. I suppose we have to thank you for that, Mademoiselle”. This is the first notable evidence of Rick being inwardly affected by Ilsa’s newly reinstated presence in his life.

Another way the audience observes Rick's emotions resurfacing is through the Sam's song, "As Time Goes By." When Ilsa asks Sam to play it the first time, Rick enters suddenly and furiously, telling Sam he was never to play that song again. Sudden bursts of emotion, much less anger for a man so composed, is clearly out of character. Then the roles are reversed when Rick asks for the song to be played as he drank alone, in the dark. This second listening led to Rick reminiscing about Paris and Ilsa, about happier times in darker days. Only a broken-hearted man- who was once described as "[being] completely neutral about everything"- would find this song to be such a powerful catalyst for emotions he had learned to repress many years ago, showing his true feelings since Ilsa left him stranded in the rain in Paris with only a note to crush his dreams of their happily ever after.

Finally, Rick changes his mind about never sticking out his neck unless it's purely self-beneficial. He helps a young couple win money to escape Casablanca, which in no way benefitted himself- perhaps he saw himself and Ilsa in them, and tried to give them the life he could never have, and he risked getting arrested by Renault and Strasser by sending Laszlo out of the country with Ilsa when he himself could have gone and married the love of his life. Rick's outer composure never changed during these scenes, but his acts of unprecedented kindness showed the viewer, yet again, the undeniable impact of Ilsa Lund on Richard Blaine... However, the questions remains if these changes are permanent, and was Ilsa's reappearance was worth the emotional - but subtle- toll it took on Rick?