Study of the Bond Girl in Casino Royale

Though filled with sleek guns, mysterious secret agents, fast cars and high-tech gadgets, a James Bond film is never complete without the ubiquitous Bond girl. She is gorgeous, she is seductive, and all too frequently, she is just there to be a pretty face and an opportunity for Bond to prove his manly charisma. Casino Royale was therefore a pleasing surprise. Vesper Lynd, beautiful, seductive but also intelligent and strong, brings an admirable representation of a female character to the Bond franchise. Vesper, the accountant for the national treasury, is a fitting representation of a femme fatale. She uses her charms to play both sides. Though she is working for the enemy the entire movie, Bond remains oblivious as her beauty, wit and allure blind him to her true motives. Much like the character of Matty Walker in Body Heat, Vesper's femme fatale character demonstrates a positive female role model: both intelligent and strong, who knows how to use her feminine qualities to outsmart men, though, at times, she may seem cold, detached and even ruthless.

The moment we are introduced to Vesper Lynd on the train, we know she is intelligent. Femme fatale characters are often misjudged, their good looks interpreted as ignorance, and they use that misdirection to their advantage. Cleverness when mixed with beauty can be a deadly combination for any man. When Vesper sits down across from Bond on the train, they immediately enter into a battle of wits. Bond tries to read Vesper's past to prove his cleverness. He deduces that she must be an orphan, but Vesper lashes back and retorts that it is must be Bond who is affected by his past as an abandoned child. She also curtly informs Bond, who is used to being irresistible, that she will be keeping her hands off of him, and that her interests lie solely in protecting the money he is using to gamble. She immediately gives herself the upper hand in the relationship and makes Bond chase and desire what he can't have. Matty Walker has a similar first encounter with Ned in Body Heat. Ned tries to be smooth, casually joking with her, and she immediately denies his advances, telling him about her husband. At the same time, she seductively jokes that he should lick off the drink that he spills on her, drawing him in subtly while denying him directly. Both characters have the intelligence to use their attractiveness to lure men in and control them. These femme fatale characters use their brains to take charge of their beauty and themselves, a dangerous combination for a man who can resist neither.

Along with a brain, the femme fatale character must have the strength to stand on her own two feet. Vesper is not simply along for the ride in Bond's plot, but in fact, has plans of her own. She shows her strength by daring to go undercover next to one of Britain's most dangerous men, when a false move could mean her life. Bond tries to control Vesper: for example, before the big poker game when he gives her the dress he wants her to wear. Bond's moment of male dominance is interrupted, however, when he finds out that Vesper has bought him a dinner jacket because the one he brought isn't stylish enough. Despite her strength, Vesper is not the criminal mind behind her double-crossing. Her boyfriend was kidnapped to secure her cooperation in the plot, so she is not inherently vicious. Matty Walker, on the other hand, is the architect of her crime. She plans to kill her husband, and leave someone else with the blame. She carries through with her plot without pause, and with little remorse, so, in that way, Matty is a stronger character than Vesper, who falls for Bond and shows her regret. But Matty is also cruel and selfish; she has taken emotion out of the equation. She feels nothing for Ned, who is left to take the fall for murder. Strong female characters show courage in the face of danger and the dominant men in their lives and are able to overcome their emotions to achieve their goal.

Too little emotion can turn a woman cold, however, and Vesper, as Bond discovers her betrayal, seems ruthless and evil. The film builds our sympathy with Bond's recent recovery from his injuries that resulted from being tortured. We also feel for him because he believes he has finally found someone to love. When he discovers Vesper's true motive, he sees her as evil. Because the movie is told from Bond's perspective, we, too, see Vesper as a villain. We only begin to again feel for Vesper when we see her remorse as she drowns. Her face betrays that she truly did love Bond, and because we see that she truly does have feelings, we can forgive her actions. Matty Walker, in contrast, shows little remorse, which leaves us sympathizing with Ned not her. A woman should be strong, but complete detachment is less human. It makes us nervous when anyone can escape from their emotions, so we immediately demonize anyone who can, which is why we leave sympathizing with Vesper, a reformed traitor, but hating the devilish Matty Walker.

Because these femme fatale characters' detachment makes the audience connect with the male protagonists, the films make a comment on a woman's sexuality. Despite the progress we've made in women's rights in the past forty years, a woman who knows how to harness her sex appeal is still seen as a threat. Vesper Lynd shows off her sultry side when she enters the poker match for the first time wearing and elegant, low-cut gown. Bond instructs her to enter so that all of the other players see her and her alluring appearance distracts them. Instead, she enters in his eye line, drawing his attention away his game and silently seducing him. Vesper knows how to flaunt her appearance to increase Bond's desire for her. Matty Walker, similarly, knows how to lure a man in from a distance, but Matty's most powerful tool is her seductive voice and eyes. When Ned visits her house for the first time, the two talk of wind chimes, but her voice and eyes draw Ned to her to a point that he cannot resist. Though she sends him home, he breaks through glass to get back into the house to reach her. Matty, too, uses her knowledge of her sexual appeal to enchant a man enough to make him kill. A femme fatale's heightened sexuality is directly tied to her emotional detachment. When a sexy woman can seduce without an emotional attachment, men are frightened into demonizing them because they cannot, despite their best efforts, resist the woman's sexuality. This leaves men vulnerable, in a place they believe women should be. This fear drives the films towards sympathy for the male characters, brokenhearted and betrayed by their femme fatale.

The femme fatale lives up to her reputation in Casino Royale: dangerous and appealing. These smart, beautiful, strong women can be role models, but the film warns against the potentially dehumanizing lack of emotion. There is a danger in letting your brains get the better of your heart, so essentially the film proposes a balance. Femme fatales are not ruled by turbulent emotions, as so many female characters are, which makes them strong, but they can't get too strong. All humans must have weakness, which is why Matty Walker garners little sympathy, but Vesper, who reveals her remorse in the end, does. Women should be strong, intelligent, and in control of their sexuality, but shouldn't lose the sensitivity and empathy that is also particularly feminine. Body, mind, and heart-these qualities essential to an admirable female describe any complete person. Ironically, after analyzing the film, we arrive at the simple conclusion that a reputable woman should have all the characteristics that classify a full and complex person. Women, fictional characters or not, are supposed to be people. Seems simple enough. Somebody ought to tell Hollywood.