Character Relationship Map: Mortdecai

Characters

• Charlie Mortdecai (played by Johnny Depp) — protagonist

  Charlie Mortdecai is a flamboyant art dealer, swindler, and heavily indebted aristocrat. Pressured by Inspector Alistair Martland, he investigates the stolen Goya while seeking a share of the insuranc...

• Inspector Alistair Martland (played by Ewan McGregor) — supporting

  Inspector Alistair Martland investigates the murder connected to the stolen Goya and believes Emil Strago is the prime suspect. He recruits Charlie Mortdecai, partly because he has loved Johanna Mortd...

• Emil Strago (played by Jonny Pasvolsky) — supporting

  Emil Strago is treated by Inspector Alistair Martland as the prime suspect in the Goya theft. He shoots and kills Spinoza during an investigation, steals the painting, murders Milton Krampf, and later...

• Milton Krampf (played by Jeff Goldblum) — supporting

  Milton Krampf is an American potential buyer of the Goya and the host of the party where he plans to display it. He reveals to Charlie Mortdecai that the painting was smuggled into America in Charlie'...

• Spinoza (played by Paul Whitehouse) — minor

  Spinoza is an art smuggler whom Charlie Mortdecai interviews while investigating the stolen Goya. Their discussion is interrupted by Emil Strago, who arrives shooting and kills Spinoza. His brief appe...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Inspector Alistair Martland → Spinoza (Professional Investigation Connection) — Spinoza is an investigative lead within the case Martland is pursuing.

  Martland's investigation leads Mortdecai to interview Spinoza as someone affiliated with the art world and art smuggling.

• Inspector Alistair Martland → Milton Krampf (Professional Case-Linked Contacts) — Krampf is connected to Martland's investigation through the painting's proposed sale.

  Martland sends Mortdecai to America to meet potential Goya buyer Krampf, and later accompanies Mortdecai to Krampf's party.

• Charlie Mortdecai → Spinoza (Professional Art World Contacts) — Their relationship is based on Mortdecai's search for information within the art-smuggling network.

  Mortdecai interviews people affiliated with the art world, including the art smuggler Spinoza.

• Charlie Mortdecai → Milton Krampf (Professional Prospective Seller And Buyer) — Their contact begins as a commercial negotiation connected to the stolen artwork.

  Martland sends Mortdecai to America to meet potential Goya buyer Krampf, and Mortdecai plans to sell his Rolls-Royce to him.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Milton Krampf → Spinoza (Social Art Network Association) — The plot places both characters within the same illicit art-market network, without showing a direct meeting.

  Krampf is a potential buyer of the Goya, while Spinoza is identified as an art smuggler; both are connected to the painting's criminal art-world circu...

• Emil Strago → Spinoza (Conflict Murderous Enemies) — Their encounter ends with Strago killing Spinoza during the investigation.

  Strago arrives during Mortdecai's argument with Spinoza and shoots at them, killing Spinoza.

• Emil Strago → Milton Krampf (Conflict Murderous Adversaries) — Strago eliminates Krampf while pursuing control of the Goya.

  Mortdecai discovers that Krampf has been murdered by Strago after Strago steals the painting.

• Charlie Mortdecai → Emil Strago (Conflict Antagonists) — Mortdecai repeatedly becomes an obstacle to Strago's theft and escape plans.

  Martland considers Strago the prime suspect, and Strago arrives during Mortdecai's interview with Spinoza and shoots at them.

• Charlie Mortdecai → Inspector Alistair Martland (Alliance Forced Collaborators) — Their cooperation is transactional and repeatedly strained by conflicting personal and professional interests.

  Martland pressures Mortdecai to assist with the stolen Goya investigation. Mortdecai agrees to help in exchange for ten percent of the insurance money...

• Inspector Alistair Martland → Emil Strago (Conflict Investigator And Suspect) — Martland directly pursues Strago as the central suspect in the art theft and related violence.

  Martland is assigned to the case and believes Strago is the prime suspect. He later apprehends Strago during the auction commotion.

Story Analysis

A financially desperate art dealer navigates murder, criminal rivals, forged paintings, and a dangerous auction while pursuing the real Goya.

Plot Progression

1. Debt Meets The Missing Goya — Mortdecai returns to London under crushing tax pressure just as a Goya is stolen and an art restorer is murdered. Martland recruits Mortdecai to pursue the case.
2. Violence In The Art World — Mortdecai questions Spinoza, but Strago's violent intervention kills the smuggler. A revelation about Nazi gold makes the painting even more valuable and dangerous.
3. The American Trail — Mortdecai travels to America to investigate Krampf and discovers that the Goya entered the country inside his Rolls-Royce. A party becomes a battlefield for competing thieves.
4. Fire And False Paint — Strago's murder of Krampf leads to a motel confrontation and explosion. The apparent Goya is exposed as a fake, redirecting the pursuit toward the real painting.
5. Auction Of Illusions — The real painting is recovered and offered at auction, attracting rival criminals. Strago is apprehended, but the sale produces another forgery and leaves Mortdecai financially precarious.