North Star Writers Group

I finally got around to seeing Casino Royale, and as it turned out, it was the most successfully unique James Bond film I’ve ever seen. The dialogue was thicker, the emotions were deeper, the gimmicks much less frequent and, thanks to Daniel Craig, the mood was much, much darker. By the way, what happened to Q? I’m still awaiting a good explanation.

I can honestly say they had me right from the opening credits. Expecting the typical, sleazy opening sequence with silhouettes of naked women doing yoga, shooting AK47s, or something in between, suffice it to say I was surprised to see silhouettes of James Bond shooting spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts out of his handgun and having knife-fights with other silhouetted combatants.

James Bond has always been an over-the-top sexist pig. Men don’t care because they tend to idolize him, and for whatever reason, there are very few complaints from women. Seriously, why don’t we hear more from offended female parties? Has the feminist movement deliberately chosen to turn a blind eye? I mention this is because this was the first Bond film I’ve ever seen that spent any time whatsoever truly grappling with James Bond as though he were an actual human being, capable of deep, personal, monogamous love.

The first time we see him seducing a girl, Bond and his prey exchange dialogue about good guys and bad guys, Bond, of course, a member of the latter demographic. It was as though the audience was to be promptly assured that this film would keep at least a toe in reality, overtly stating Bond’s sleaziness without getting overly wrapped up in the habitually elaborate seduction scenes that attempt to treat Bond’s magical ability to seduce as a novelty every bloody time we see it. But Casino Royale was a bit more honest, seeming to illustrate Bond as the reckless animal his character truly is. And it is this reckless, selfish character we see thrown into a relationship with Vesper Lynd, a good girl of sorts.

Of all that made this particular Bond film different, it was Bond’s affair with Vesper Lynd that made this a really great movie.

They began by “reading” each other, as one might in a poker game. They accurately size each other up, guessing at motives, vices, peeves and even alerting the audience to the fact that both characters are orphans. Vesper is intrigued by Bond’s powers of perception, but unimpressed with his arrogance and misuse of women.

There is a surprisingly moving scene in the shower – fully dressed – in which Vesper is huddled against the wall, clearly traumatized by the murders she just witnessed, and Bond, in his bloodied attire, sits next to her and draws her against him, in the first real moment of tenderness between the two.

**spoiler alert**

It is somewhere between the moment in the shower, the poker game and their abduction and torture that the two fall for each other. And honestly, I wasn’t completely sold on when and why Bond fell head over heels for her. We discover later that she was in over her head with debts, another man and playing both sides, but this is secondary to the point, which is not why Daniel Craig falls for her, head over heels, but simply that he falls for her, head over heels, to the point where he submits his resignation to his boss, M.

Shortly after escaping from being brutally tortured, Bond is on the beach with Lynd, and he tells her “All I have left, all I am, is yours,” in another beautifully moving scene. It is one of those moments where you’re left thinking, “This is all well and good, but how in the heck is Bond going to have another movie if, A) he resigns and B) he’s actually in love with only one girl?” I was truly concerned, but as we see, this was the plan behind Craig’s introduction as the new James Bond, the inexperienced James Bond who is still learning.

By the end of the film, after his discovery of Vesper Lynd’s complicated allegiances, James Bond is taught many valuable lessons, none more important than the risks involved in trust. But this is why Casino Royale was so one-of-a-kind. We are offered a reason as to why James Bond is such a man-whore. We are offered the premise that this was the one time he truly offered a woman his whole heart, only to have it torn apart by deceit, and ultimately, death.

During my favorite scene in the film, Bond and Lynd are out to dinner, celebrating his victory at the poker tournament. This is before their full-fledged, “Humphrey Bogart in Paris”-esque affair. Bond notices an intriguing medallion that Lynd is wearing on her necklace, which she doesn’t fully explain, and he responds by saying, “I know there is something driving you, and I don’t think I’ll ever know what it is.” This movie broadened Bond’s character, showing that he truly can be affected, profound, wounded and even humble.

If we never had any inkling as to what drives Bond, just a man, to his fantastic, dangerous exploits and his man-whorish antics, now we have one. Bond is an orphan with a tainted heart.

As this was an introduction to Daniel Craig as James Bond, the screenwriters, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis, took some liberties, treating this particular plot as not only an introduction to Daniel Craig, but as a type of historical account of our favorite sleazy hero, somewhat reminiscent of Batman Begins. The audience was rewarded with two things. First, Daniel Craig. He absolutely nailed the part. Sure, his undersized ears stick out and he’s got some odd creases around his lips, but this may be part of what made him so incredibly endearing. He is not as attractive as, say, Pierce Brosnan or Sean Connery, but he was believable not just as James Bond, but as a man. He does not over-act or fall into the stereotypical characteristics of Bond, perhaps thanks to the screenwriters. He simply plays a darkened role with incredibly effective subtlety.

It is hard to imagine how future Bond films will improve upon Casino Royale, which is replete with the depth that comes from humanity, psychology and those things that educate and scar us. But I never saw this film coming either. I never even knew it was possible for a Bond flick. So maybe there is hope for something comparable to one of the most compelling movies I’ve seen on the big screen in a long time.

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