76 replies to this topic

[Pussfeller]

I hate to interrupt, but I'm still wondering about Silva's motives. To put it another way, I'm wondering what M could possibly have done to earn such intense and durable hatred. It can't just be that Silva was an MI6 agent who got a raw deal after a botched mission. If it were nothing but a guy getting burned by bad luck, then Silva would come off as a thin-skinned, self-absorbed whiner, his revenge plot would seem silly and disproportionate, and M herself would be exculpated of any wrongdoing, let alone "dark secrets". Instead of M making a fateful and tragic mistake that has come back to haunt her, it would be a case of M having had the bad luck to cross paths with a crazy guy early in her career. So it can't be that Silva is just nuts. (Although I'm sure he's partly nuts.) If his personal crusade against M were entirely groundless and crazy, like that of an obsessed stalker, there'd be no need to talk about dark secrets in M's past. M would be a hapless victim of random misfortune, instead of a tragic protagonist in her own drama. For this whole dynamic to work, it seems like M must have done something genuinely reprehensible, unjustified, and unsympathetic -- something that almost makes Silva's quest for revenge seem reasonable and proportionate. So what could M have possibly done?

[S K Y F A L L]

Perhaps what M does to Silva is how he got his psychical disability.

This is possible. I was looking in the Bardem thread, and users were discussing the possibility

Spoiler

Silva had his teeth pulled out during a torture.

Perhaps there's more to it then that but if true, sounds like Silva has some reason to be upset with M. I've also mentioned this before but it looks like Silva is

Spoiler

wearing braces in one scene while he is talking to Bond.

[Pussfeller]

Braces and toothlessness seem to be mutually exclusive. If your teeth have been pulled out, you don't remedy the situation with braces. You get dentures.

[S K Y F A L L]

I was just pointing out that his teeth looked funny to me and what Sharpeshooter has pointed out about him being tortured adds up. But your right if he had fake teeth it would be hard to notice the difference, so perhaps there is still much we don't know about and unrelated to his "deformity."

[Iceskater101]

I am excited to see where they take this plot. I am so excited to see this, you have no idea.

[Shrublands]

There was that credit for ‘special effects teeth’

Aside from that, apparently, Silva’s hatred of MI6 and M began when they worked together in Hong Kong during the time leading up to the hand-back to the Chinese.

[univex]

There was that credit for ‘special effects teeth’

Oh yeah, that´s true. Good memory Shrubs.

[TheManwiththeWaltherPPK]

Braces and toothlessness seem to be mutually exclusive. If your teeth have been pulled out, you don't remedy the situation with braces. You get dentures.

The thing mistaken for braces could just be the wire attachments used to hold partial dentures in place.

[TheSilhouette]

Berenice Marlohe plays silva's fear stricken mistress

Q
ben whishaw's computer-hacking skills
backfire spectacularly
triggering an intense mid-movie chase beneath London's streets

Just out of curiosity, is there some thing that is making your posts awkwardly formatted or are you very fond of the "Enter" key?

[Shrublands]

am i supposed to say sorry to you ???

I don't think so - just stop doing it.

[The Shark]

That should be:

Ok.

[Shrublands]

I thought I'd bring an exchange between Vauxhall and myself over from the reviews thread. It's on topic here too, so perhaps it'll get this thread back on track.

http://movieline.com...-javier-bardem/

I like the sound of this scene:

"When [Silva] eventually recounts the blood-curdling turn of events that led him to turn his back on his country, it's difficult not to have some empathy for him."

Yes, that got my attention too. I sort of hope that it's not too soon after we meet Sliva, perhaps the isolation cell or even the graveyard would be powerful.

I'm thinking the isolation cell, when the captive Silva has Bond and M as his captive audience. A long monologue in the graveyard would probably slow down the closing sequence quite drastically, particularly at a time when the onus is on Bond to move into the chapel as quickly as possible.

Thinking this through, (I agree) it’s probably in the isolation cell. There is that shot of Silva unzipping his boiler suit from one of the TV spots – he seems to be smiling at Bond as he does so.
It would seem logical that the grisly disfigurement and ‘blood-curdling turn of events’ that motivate him are connected.

I know that in the scene just after this, M ‘confesses’ something to Bond.

[The Shark]

Sorry, couldn't help it.

[Vauxhall]

Thinking this through, (I agree) it’s probably in the isolation cell. There is that shot of Silva unzipping his boiler suit from one of the TV spots – he seems to be smiling at Bond as he does so.
It would seem logical that the grisly disfigurement and ‘blood-curdling turn of events’ that motivate him are connected.

Great shout on the unzipping of the boiler suit. That must be where he reveals his weird deformity, as we know he's still dressed in the boiler suit when he escapes the bunker before being given his police officer's uniform. As you've suggested, that's probably part of Silva's monologue.

[Pussfeller]

It could conceivably be a Fleming reference. In the novels, Bond has the scar of a "Ш" that was carved by a SMERSH agent in the back of his hand to identify him as a spy. Maybe Silva has the Chinese for spy carved into his flesh.

But that's not exactly "gruesome". When they use that word, I immediately think he must have a gorned-up crotch.

[Royal Dalton]

Thinking this through, (I agree) it’s probably in the isolation cell. There is that shot of Silva unzipping his boiler suit from one of the TV spots – he seems to be smiling at Bond as he does so.
It would seem logical that the grisly disfigurement and ‘blood-curdling turn of events’ that motivate him are connected.

Great shout on the unzipping of the boiler suit. That must be where he reveals his weird deformity, as we know he's still dressed in the boiler suit when he escapes the bunker before being given his police officer's uniform. As you've suggested, that's probably part of Silva's monologue.

We never actually see his deformity, though. Which is why I think he possibly had his genitals mutilated by the Chinese when he was in Hong Kong.

[JCRendle]

We never actually see his deformity, though. Which is why I think he possibly had his genitals mutilated by the Chinese when he was in Hong Kong.

Like a mirror to Bond, Silva is what Bond could be if he didn't love his country as much as he does.

[TheManwiththeWaltherPPK]

Wouldn't genital mutilation be a bit much for the ratings that Skyfall has gotten? Sure, we are getting an F bomb in the film, but I feel like the menace involved with genital mutilation even when not shown is something that tends to be more consistent with R-rated films, especially since it would portrayed seriously as the result of torture. Not that i'm objecting to the idea, it has a certain Fleming-esque quality. Rather, it just seems inconsistent with what we already know about the film and how much it is possibly pushing the bounds of a PG-13 rating.

[Vauxhall]

The other thing about Silva that I keep forgetting is that there is a specific reason for why he has blond hair, and Bardem hasn't been able to talk about it in interviews yet. Definitely a character with a troubled past.

[Shrublands]

Which is why I think he possibly had his genitals mutilated by the Chinese when he was in Hong Kong.

And Sony/MGM/Eon are expecting an... umm... uncut release in China for maximum profits. Don't think so.

[Royal Dalton]

I should think most of the profits in China will be going to street vendors.

Anyway, not necessarily the government. It might have been the Triads, or whoever.

These two probably had something to do with it: http://imageupper.co...454638072496485

[TheManwiththeWaltherPPK]

A reviewer who frequents another forum I visit confirmed that:

Spoiler

Silva has no teeth, but they weren't pulled out.

[Pussfeller]

Radiation? That might tie in with the hair.

[The Shark]

Edentulism.

[Royal Dalton]

Radiation poisoning would make your teeth fall out. Not sure it would turn your hair blond, though. Or is that a wig after all?

[Vauxhall]

Edentulism.

Incidentally, a very difficult word to say if you happen to suffer from the condition.

[TheManwiththeWaltherPPK]

Radiation poisoning would make your teeth fall out. Not sure it would turn your hair blond, though. Or is that a wig after all?

I believe it can lighten your hair. I remember after my grandfather had radiation therapy for his cancer, his hair grew back a far lighter shade of grey than it was previously. Also, terminal radiation poisoning could also explain why some critics have mentioned Silva being an almost sympathetic villain at times. If the guy is doomed to die a slow and painful death, that could explain why you might feel for him despite his villainry.

[Pussfeller]

Feels a bit too similar to Renard.

[Royal Dalton]

If Silva was caught in a nuclear blast, his body could be badly burned and scarred, which is why we don't see it.

It's also worth noting that there's what looks like a mushroom cloud behind the two men in the picture Silva sends to M: http://imageupper.co...454638072496485

[TheManwiththeWaltherPPK]

If Silva was caught in a nuclear blast, his body could be badly burned and scarred, which is why we don't see it.

It's also worth noting that there's what looks like a mushroom cloud behind the two men in the picture Silva sends to M: http://imageupper.co...454638072496485

I think that is just one of the embedded agents wearing a turban.