Skyfall: Scene by Scene

Skyfall is a good example of how reception context can influence audience engagement. When Bond and M decide to lure Silva into a trap, they decide to change vehicles. Mendes cuts to a shot of a dark garage and Bond flicks on the lights, revealing a 1965 Aston Martin DB5. The car, which first appeared in Goldfinger (1964), is a recognisable icon of the franchise. An audience familiar with Bond would feel a thrill as the car is revealed, particularly considering is is accompanied by the “James Bond Theme” written by Monty Norman. Mendes cuts to of the car’s trunk as the engine roars and the lights turn on. It speeds away, accompanied by the classic surf guitar riff used in the 1960s.

“It’s not very comfortable,” M complains, as they’re driving away. “Are you going to complain the whole way,” Bond replies and Mendes cuts to a close up of Bond flicking back the gearshift to reveal a red button. “Oh, go on,” she says. “Eject me.” Those familiar with the Bond franchise would enjoy these references to the car and its ejector seats.

“The combination of seeing that car and then hearing the Bond theme for many people, including myself, is a kind of orgy of nostalgia,” said Mendes in his commentary for the film. “Being in an audience that spontaneously applauds at that moment is probably one of the best moments of making this film.”

When Bond and M arrive in Scotland, a short exchange of dialogue continues to develop the character of James Bond, hinting at his past.

Q: Is this where you grew up? How old were you when they died?
Bond: You know the answer to that. You know the whole story.
M: Orphans always make the best recruits.
Bond: Storm’s coming.

When Bond and M reach Skyfall, his childhood home in the Scottish highlands, the film enters its third act. There is another moment of character development when Kincaid shows M the secret tunnel leading under the moors. “The night I told him his parents had died, he hid in here for two days,” he says. “When he did come out, he wasn’t a boy anymore.”

Mendes uses another montage to structure time, compressing the long process of fortifying Skyfall into a few minutes: Kincaid and Bond unveil a mirror; M removes sheets from chandeliers, smashing light bulbs and inserting them into shotgun shells and wrapping them into bags of screws and nails; Bond inserting shotgun shells beneath floorboards; Kindcaid and Bond boarding up windows; Bond retrieving sticks of dynamite; and Kincaid testing a sawn-off shotgun.

Before the climax of the film begins, there is a short scene which helps to reconcile the relationship between Bond and M. This reconciliation is achieved largely through the use of dialogue.

M: I fucked this up, didn’t I?
Bond: No.
M: You did your job.
Bond: I read your obituary of me.
M: And?
Bond: Appalling.
M: Yeah, I knew you’d hate it. I did call you “an exemplar of British fortitude”.
Bond: That bit was all right.

The tone of Bond’s voice when he says the last line conveys a sense of warmth and contributes to the reconciliation of their relationship.

Activity: Describe how Mendes uses a combination of production elements to engage the audience during the climactic scene of Skyfall.

After Bond destroys Skyfall and the helicopter plunges into the ruins, mise en scene is used to further develop Silva. Mendes cuts to a full shot of Silva pacing angrily in front of the burning building. The raging flames behind him mean he’s almost reduced to a silhouette. The fill light barely illuminating his face is red and orange, making him look particularly demonic. Embers fly around him and his breath creates great clouds of vapour. In his commentary for the film, Mendes talks about his deliberate decision to have Silva illuminated by the hellish fires. “He’s a vision from hell,” says Mendes. “Like he’s in the underworld now.” The camera is handheld as Silva shambles towards it, helping to convey how unhinged the character has become. “Now it’s me and her,” he says, voice low and sinister.

As Silva, Kincaid and M limp away from the flames, the characters are also reduced to little more than silhouettes. There are countless examples of this lighting technique throughout the film which is a deliberate motif for the shadowy world of espionage. M mentions this explicitly during her speech at the inquiry: “Our world is not more transparent now. It’s more opaque. It’s in the shadows. That’s where we must do battle.”

As Silva approaches the chapel for his final confrontation with M, he pauses for a moment, studying a grave. Mendes cuts to a close up of the grave, slowly dollying in on the inscription: IN MEMORY OF ANDREW BOND AND MONIQUE DELACROIX BOND. He cuts back to a close up of Silva, Bardem giving a smile, then a sinister chuckle before he sighs and the camera pans to follow his ascent to the chapel.

When Mendes cuts to the interior of the chapel, Thomas Newman’s score contributes to this sinister characterisation of Silva by using low, choral sounds. In his commentary for the film, Mendes notes that there’s something “strange” and “a bit ghostly” about the music.

This scene resolves the relationship between M and Silva which was the catalyst for the narrative. Mendes engages the audience using a number of production elements, encouraging the audience to feel sympathy for the plight of M and Kincaid. As he walks towards M, Silva is lit by the orange and red light spilling through the chapel windows, making him look particularly demonic. His hair is dirty and matted, face wounded and bleeding in places. Mendes cuts to a mid shot of Kincaid who emerges from a doorway on the other side of the room. He cuts back to Silva quickly, who raises his gun and fires. The gunshot is loud and shocking. Masonry explodes on the doorway near Kincaid. This use of sound helps to put the audience on edge and feel sympathetic towards these characters. When Silva crosses the room and reaches M, Mendes cuts between a shot/reverse shot of the characters, a close up emphasising the deranged expression on Silva’s face. He raises a blood stained hand slowly, gently running it across her cheek. The close up of M highlights her fear. Her whole body wavers slightly as she stares up at him. She gasps as Silva leans forward, grimacing, breathing heavily and pressing the gun towards her face. This acting, in combination with the tight close ups highlights the drama and intensity of their final confrontation. Holding the gun to her head, he grimaces suddenly and Mendes cuts to a shot of a knife in his back, then to Bond standing in the doorway. He walks back towards the door slowly before dropping to his knees. Mendes cuts to a close up of Bond who says, “Last rat standing.” There is a close up of Silva has he falls face first to the ground. This moment resolves the main storyline in the film, the confrontation between Silva and Bond, helping to resolve the narrative.