100 Great Scenes In Not So Great Films - 32 - The mouse scene in Spectre
This is very much the short version of my problems with Spectre, the long version is here -https://redfiona10.livejournal.com/367303.html
The case for the prosecution: Films have ended up on this list for a variety of reasons but I think this is the only one that's on the list for philosophical reasons. I just can't agree with its themes, or most of them at least.
There are a lot, and they all seem to contradict each other in really odd ways.
1 - the surveillance society is a bad thing
OK, this one I am OK with, the problem is how they approach it. They're (M, Tanner, Bond, Q, Moneypenny) rude, unnecessarily rude, to C, long before it's obvious that he's being used by Blofeld. Just because he's played by Andrew Scott doesn't mean that he's a bad guy, and I'd prefer it if the good guys had evidence before they attack.
2 - James Bond shouldn't have to do this job.
Which yeah, fine, with but it seems to be only Bond they object to doing that job, which is odd. There are at least another 6 double-0 agents, that they don't mention, and M and Tanner as well. Either no one ought to do it, or there's no reason to mark Bond out especially.
Then there's the whole bit about how it shouldn't be machines that make the sort of decisions spies take, but if it's not machines, it has to be people and the same film has just been arguing that people shouldn't be making those decisions so who the *blank* do you want to make these decisions? It's probably the best example of the confusion of the writing but it's by no means the only one.
3 - Love redeems
Which I have issues with anyway, even before the really poor way the film deals with it. Redemption requires at least an attempt to fix the trouble you have caused, there is none of that just a badly-written illogical romance. (Dudes, your lead actor is Daniel Craig, it should be straightforward to convey the leading lady wants him. You have failed in some spectacular way when you don't manage that.)
4 - The children of bad people are the only people who can understand bad people.
Urgh! Just urgh!
So we're supposed to believe that Dr Madeleine Swann will automatically be suited to Bond, a bad man, just because her father is a bad man.
I repeat my urgh!
Not related to the above, I am done with villains with personal reasons. Blofeld doesn't care who Bond is, he just wants money and power. And that is how we like him. Even Christoph Waltz being wonderfully wicked and charming does not save this version of Blofeld.
I also have artistic objections. I hate the theme tune, although several buskers have proved the problem with the theme tune is Sam Smith's voice, not the tune itself. I hate the stupid filter that's put over footage filmed in any country warmer than Britain, not least because it ruins the effort that went into the Mexican helicopter stunts. It is a stupid effect and it annoys me.
Also, that's not what thalium poisoning looks like.
The scene itself:
Why the scene is so good:
It's one of few scenes where everything actually works*. There's this brittle hysterical edge to Craig's Bond in Spectre, for good reason, and this is where it all breaks. There are few actors who do despair quite as well as Daniel Craig and here he nails yet another flavour of it.
His Bond here know he's being ridiculous, because it's a mouse, but he's had to be paranoid, because Blofeld, and his electronic surveillance, is everywhere. It's a wonderful tightrope walk of a scene, because he's still dangerous but he's at the end of his teather, and that's dangerous in a different way. Why can't the rest of the film be that good?!
*remarkably, most of these feature Dave Batista, this is one of the two that don't.
The case for the prosecution: Films have ended up on this list for a variety of reasons but I think this is the only one that's on the list for philosophical reasons. I just can't agree with its themes, or most of them at least.
There are a lot, and they all seem to contradict each other in really odd ways.
1 - the surveillance society is a bad thing
OK, this one I am OK with, the problem is how they approach it. They're (M, Tanner, Bond, Q, Moneypenny) rude, unnecessarily rude, to C, long before it's obvious that he's being used by Blofeld. Just because he's played by Andrew Scott doesn't mean that he's a bad guy, and I'd prefer it if the good guys had evidence before they attack.
2 - James Bond shouldn't have to do this job.
Which yeah, fine, with but it seems to be only Bond they object to doing that job, which is odd. There are at least another 6 double-0 agents, that they don't mention, and M and Tanner as well. Either no one ought to do it, or there's no reason to mark Bond out especially.
Then there's the whole bit about how it shouldn't be machines that make the sort of decisions spies take, but if it's not machines, it has to be people and the same film has just been arguing that people shouldn't be making those decisions so who the *blank* do you want to make these decisions? It's probably the best example of the confusion of the writing but it's by no means the only one.
3 - Love redeems
Which I have issues with anyway, even before the really poor way the film deals with it. Redemption requires at least an attempt to fix the trouble you have caused, there is none of that just a badly-written illogical romance. (Dudes, your lead actor is Daniel Craig, it should be straightforward to convey the leading lady wants him. You have failed in some spectacular way when you don't manage that.)
4 - The children of bad people are the only people who can understand bad people.
Urgh! Just urgh!
So we're supposed to believe that Dr Madeleine Swann will automatically be suited to Bond, a bad man, just because her father is a bad man.
I repeat my urgh!
Not related to the above, I am done with villains with personal reasons. Blofeld doesn't care who Bond is, he just wants money and power. And that is how we like him. Even Christoph Waltz being wonderfully wicked and charming does not save this version of Blofeld.
I also have artistic objections. I hate the theme tune, although several buskers have proved the problem with the theme tune is Sam Smith's voice, not the tune itself. I hate the stupid filter that's put over footage filmed in any country warmer than Britain, not least because it ruins the effort that went into the Mexican helicopter stunts. It is a stupid effect and it annoys me.
Also, that's not what thalium poisoning looks like.
The scene itself:
Click to viewWhy the scene is so good:
It's one of few scenes where everything actually works*. There's this brittle hysterical edge to Craig's Bond in Spectre, for good reason, and this is where it all breaks. There are few actors who do despair quite as well as Daniel Craig and here he nails yet another flavour of it.
His Bond here know he's being ridiculous, because it's a mouse, but he's had to be paranoid, because Blofeld, and his electronic surveillance, is everywhere. It's a wonderful tightrope walk of a scene, because he's still dangerous but he's at the end of his teather, and that's dangerous in a different way. Why can't the rest of the film be that good?!
*remarkably, most of these feature Dave Batista, this is one of the two that don't.