| Issue #36, December 1, 2006 |
Guy de Fraumeni’s Hollywod In The Hamptons
007 aficionados, rejoice! James Bond has been resurrected in body and soul.
Every reader or movie fan of Ian Fleming’s undercover agent has their own idea of which actor best served Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Always the wise, older guy, I wanted Sean Connery to carry on through all the years and all the movies, allowing him to age, with or without a toupee, and still sexy. We older blokes can dream, can’t we?
The current revival of Casino Royale, Fleming’s first Bond novel of 1953, gives us Bond’s crude but refined sensitive edginess. Bond, as portrayed by the much-contested Daniel Craig, who was “too blond, too short, with stick-out ears and a potato-blunt face,” defies all the nay-sayers. He takes us back to Fleming’s grim, war-toughened individual who was licensed to kill. The new Bond, Craig, eschews the stuffed shirts of handsomer Bonds. Do you believe that when a bartender asks him if he wants his Martini shaken or stirred, he belligerently states, “Do I look as if I give a damn?” This should shake you out of the era of saccharine-light Roger Moore episodes that relied on gadget explosions for excitement. With Daniel Craig’s Bond, he is the excitement. Adults will be disappointed when the clever, stunt-generated thrills come on screen. Mr. Craig recreates the 007 agent who does the stirring.
Casino Royale’s first movie version, opened in 1967, was a bloated spoof with David Niven as Bond. Being as blubbery as a whale, it did not sink – it simply stank. Casino’s rights were bought early on, but talented producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli obtained the rights to the rest of the books, and invented the Bond style with Dr. No in 1962 and the terrific From Russia With Love in 1963. Bingo! The franchise had been touched by the gold finger of gutsy talent. In trust, Mr. Broccoli’s daughter Barbara and stepson Michael Wilson have kept the legacy going on roads made even slicker, up to and including Pierce Brosnan’s adorable Bond. Interestingly, Brosnan took Connery’s route after playing 007, choosing far less glamorous roles. Now, with the help of writers Paul Haggis (Crash), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, the Bond legacy has been restructured – a deeper, more authentic, well-acted and less cute 007 performance by an actor who will make you believe that he’s been a naval commander. And – would you believe it – a “Bond Girl” whose acting talent is greater than her bra size.
Not surprisingly, Daniel Craig’s off-beat persona turned out to be sexier than the whole string of Bonds to both women and men. Naturally, or by dint of rigorous fitness workouts, Mr. Craig’s body is crusty, well defined and sexually hot – so much so, that the fiendish villain loves having Bond tied and looking fit to be so. He is nude, and obviously enjoyed by his bad guy captor ‘cause the fiend ogles Bond’s body and gives the well-built spy’s genitals a tweak.
Casting throughout is impeccable. That really mean villain, Le Chiffre (I won’t try to describe what awful thing he had in mind after the tweak), is given freshness by Danish star Mads Mikkelsen. His bright talent is exhibited best in the poker duel with the film’s hero at Montenegro’s Casino Royale. Here, the test is not who’s the strongest, but who has the strongest character. Kinda different, ain’t it? Don’t tell me – you’re wondering about the plot? Well, in the spirit of international cooperation, it checkerboards – touching down in London, Prague, Miami and the sunny Bahamas. Before that, the movie has credits (very graphic), the theme song and the opening chase. In this Bond movie, the segment takes place over buildings in Africa. Although this opening scene showcases little more than the sweat on Bond, and very little exposition on his character, the next scene is a black and white, other opening that shows the much too self-determined M16 agent (who may be passed over as a double-0 rank) who kills too easily. But, he’s so nasty that he nails the villain, this time a banker who launders money and dirties it by passing it on to terrorists. However great Bond is, the involvement of the wonderful cast makes the story. The cast includes stellar performances from Eva Green as Vesper, who stakes Bond at the poker table, Jeffery Wright as a CIA agent, Giancarlo Giannini as an M16 contact, and Dame Judi Dench returning to her role as M. Even she cannot cut the new Bond down to her short, stocky size. And oh, my! There’s Caterina Murino’s bruising carpet scene with James. (Us old guys are incorrigible.) Hey, the new Bond is 38 years of age! That’s close to getting his A.A.R.P. card.
GuyJean de Fraumeni is the producer/writer/director of awardwinning European and American feature films. He has been a judge at major Film and TV award competitions, including the Oscars, the Emmys and various film festivals. Sarah Halsey assists him.
 |
