14 replies to this topic

[DamnCoffee]

One of the things that genuinely did surprise me about Skyfall was the performance of Bérénice Marlohe, as the seductive but damaged Severine. I was shocked at how much of a presence she was in the final film, I wasn't expecting much from a 'French TV Actress.' That was my mistake, I apologise. 

 

However, Bond's scene at the Bar with Severine is my favourite scene of the film, maybe even in the entire series. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted, and Bérénice makes so much of a presence in that scene than I have to say that Eva Green doesn't achieve. I've always pondered over the thought of Bérénice Marlohe replacing Eva Green as Vesper in Casino Royale. Personally, I think it would be a fantastic bit of casting. She could've taken the character to so many more places. I think Casino Royale is fantastic, but Eva Green is one of few faults I have with the film. 

 

Bérénice Marlohe as Vesper for me, would make Casino Royale a much better film. 

Edited by DamnCoffee, 06 March 2013 - 02:23 AM.

[x007AceOfSpades]

She's beautiful and quite attractive, but as far as acting goes. I'll pass. Her character seemed like something that was thrown together and I wish there was more development for Severine. Eva Green is attractive (I wouldn't say beautiful, but attractive), but she was good in CR.

[Vauxhall]

Berenice is great in SKYFALL, but I've always considered Eva Green to be a near perfect choice for Vesper in CASINO ROYALE, so I'll pass too.

[tdalton]

She's beautiful and quite attractive, but as far as acting goes. I'll pass. Her character seemed like something that was thrown together and I wish there was more development for Severine. Eva Green is attractive (I wouldn't say beautiful, but attractive), but she was good in CR.

 

Agreed.

 

I think Marlohe did a good job in Skyfall with the very miniscule amount of material they gave her to work with, and her brief couple of scenes were the highlight of Skyfall, but Eva Green and the half of Casino Royale in which she actually appears is in a different league altogether. 

Edited by tdalton, 06 March 2013 - 03:12 AM.

[The Shark]

While I'd wouldn't have gone with Berenice for Vesper, she did have great chemistry with Craig - which is more than what can be said for Eva Green.

 

Green's a fine actress, but Vesper wasn't the right part.

[Professor Pi]

Berenice is gorgeous and exotic.  I do wish she had a larger part in Skyfall and was duly impressed with her scene in the casino.  How she turned from a confident seductive woman into a frightened quivering girl was mesmerizing.  But Severine is a very different role than Vesper.

 

Vesper shouldn't be exotic with the hints of Asian ethnicity that Severine has.  She's European (hard to place the accent Eva used), well educated and independent.  I thought Eva Greene was quite good in her early scenes where she and Bond banter and are at odds with each other.  Greene was well cast as Vesper as she needed to be both strong headed but also display vulnerability.  However, the only time I thought Craig's Bond had any chemistry was with Camille in the DC3 scenes of QoS.

 

When you think on it, EON's given us three solid leading ladies in a row now with Eva, Olga Kurylenko, and Berenice. 

[Mallory]

A sign of a good actress is when you want more after her sudden death scene.

 

I do however liked her performance better than Eva Green. I think a lot of that is the writer's fault because they tried to make her more conflicted than it was intended. Purvis and Wade were going to have her confess she betrayed Bond and then kill herself, similar to the books but Haggis felt it was too simple. I felt if they stuck with that idea it would have been more shocking. Instead they dragged out her death. I did like the bit where he says "Allow me."

 

If they just left her the way Fleming intended instead of creating loose ends so they can waste it all on QoS, she would have been a better character. Severnine served her purpose, she was sold to a brothel at a young age, a lot of awful things happened to her and her only way out was death. She knew she was going to her death but she went just to be assured that Silva will die too.

 

Dark stuff.

Edited by Mallory, 06 March 2013 - 04:45 AM.

[thecasinoroyale]

Well I'm biast and would love to have seen her in a meatier role than Severine.

 

I feel as her character was cut short, I would have loved to have seen her toy with Bond more, let us in to her psyche and really understand her story. As Vesper Lynd, she certainly has the look (as we've seen in the film and publicity) to be very glamorous, and also plain and sensitive.

 

Good idea for casting, but I suppose Eva Green was more down to earth, a woman you could imagine in the Accounts department at MI6. Berenice is probably a little TOO beautiful for that role. 

 

Would love to have seen her in a large role though, she certainly has the acting talent.

[seawolfnyy]

Um, no. Eva Green was the perfect choice for Vesper. She fits the profile, from exactly how she is described by Fleming in the novel. She really portrayed Vesper's coldness well and no I cannot imagine anyone else in that role. Berenice is lovely, don't get me wrong, but Severine was a total waste. I am not a big fan of the casino scene with her and Daniel. Quite frankly, any idiot could pick up that she is terrified of Silva. She doesn't exactly hide it well. I don't really think that was Berenice's fault, so much as the writing. But as for Berenice as Vesper? No, just....no.

[Sir Godfrey]

Berenice is effectively a very good actress. I think she was too excellent...
In the scene at the bar, Severine's face changes when she describes Silva "Not like this, not like him". When I saw the scene the first time, I was very afraid : "WHAOWW Silva seems to be a very good vilain !"
But my opinion changed when I really saw him joking about Bond'tests and during the "seduction" scene... I was laughing.

[thecasinoroyale]

And her last words to him on the island before her death... "I'm sorry." 

 

Weren't they the last words said by Vesper to Bond also before she locked the elevator door?

 

 

A mirror image of Bond girls almost, being sorry for simply doing what they thought was best. Sad, fragile women.

[Professor Pi]

 

And her last words to him on the island before her death... "I'm sorry." 
 
Weren't they the last words said by Vesper to Bond also before she locked the elevator door?
 
 
A mirror image of Bond girls almost, being sorry for simply doing what they thought was best. Sad, fragile women.

 

I missed that completely. Good catch, tcr.

[The Shark]

She really portrayed Vesper's coldness well

That's not Fleming's Vesper.

[seawolfnyy]

 

She really portrayed Vesper's coldness well

That's not Fleming's Vesper.

 

Yes it is, especially towards the end of the novel. She becomes VERY detached to the point that she ignores him for several days. She kills herself because of her guilt over what she did to him.

[tdalton]

I wouldn't really consider that to be coldness. I think the fact that she ignores him and whatnot due to her guilt over what she's done to him would show the opposite of coldness. If she were really a cold person, she wouldn't have cared in the least and would have either gone on and continued to live a lie with him or she would have allowed SMERSH to kill Bond in an effort to save herself.

Eva Green does, IMO, a very good job of portraying EON's Vesper Lynd, but much like the film itself, it's not much of a faithful adaptation of Fleming's Vesper Lynd or Casino Royale.