A Woman Watches Bond: The Living Daylights

Wishing for Timothy Dalton to drop in in these troubled times, The Living Daylights is remarkable as a transitional Bond. Whilst it follows on very much in the vein of Moore Bonds, Dalton plays his 007 as professional agent first, irritated by authority and very much playing the part to get results. You can count how many times he gets irritated by authority or by Kara (or all of the above), whilst trying to get his mission done. Meanwhile, they try to get their own back by confining Bond to dull duties — or even worse, sending him on holiday.

Emotional Bond

Whilst billed as the grittier, colder Bond, he’s also an emotional Bond (just like Fleming’s books). Whether it’s terrifying a happy family enjoying their balloons at a fun fair, as he leaps out about to pull a gun on them in his quest to find a killer or breezily dropping in to a bored woman’s yacht to borrow her phone. Or charming Kara (Maryam d’Abo) by stopping the Ferris Wheel to seduce her, having first seduced her with capitalism through opulent clothes she thought she could never dare to wear; Disneyfication — the largest elephant on the stall, and the thing that pleases her most — music, specifically opera.

Grit and Justice

This is also the Bond of believable action — observant and controlled, when there’s a horrible attack on one of the ‘00’ agents during a training exercise. They were chosen for the pride of the honour and this attack on them — and later on their country secret base is an attack on their pride and honour, a besmirch to be avenged. This Bond runs after a Landy, leaps on to it (aflame), holds on for grim death and stabs his way through to the murderous driver. The horror is in seeing the driver kill ‘real’ soldiers — who think this mock-up is getting out of order. The unfairness, the lack of justice cries out for justice — in the form of its bringer James Bond.

Thrillingly a high up East German General plans to defect during a concert. Only there’s a beautiful woman sniper on his trail. Bond bends the rules again as he shoots to wound — not kill, before stealing off with the General and the car. Dumping his outsized gun for perhaps a more reliable and slimline Walther PPK?*

East-West, Which Is Best?

The Cold War setting matches Bond’s grit as we duck and dive from Gibraltar (where ‘00’ agents are being targeted), to an English country house setting where General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) is whisked away from his new found freedom, bad food and hamper of goodies to a helicopter…By a mysterious milkman, Necros (Andreas Wisniewski), who does a great line in accents, whilst modelling multiple uses for a Walkman.

Yet Koskov appreciates — and indeed makes the most of — Western decadence, when we see both him and Neros appreciating a pool party, and the women around them. Humorously, Koskov appears for debriefing in nothing more than swimming briefs — and a dressing gown. His professionalism and adherance to the cause are already under question (and will come into full light later when we learn that he’s been embezzling party funds, about to be pulled in for corruption).

Koskov also provides tension and great humour in the movie as he evades the shooter, and is stuffed into a ‘pig’ to escape to the West, then told to move faster towards freedom. Later on, despite his inexhaustible supply of getaway planes, he uses Kara to get to Bond, resulting in a neat distraction and chase through Czech-Slovakia (as was) and a rebellious fight to the death at an occupying Soviet base.

Women, Life, Freedom

In his Lawrence of Arabia moment, Bond and Kara join with the rebel Mujahadin to fight the invasive Russians, led by the princely Kamran Shah (Art Malik). The saddest thing in this section is seeing the brightly clothed and very free, publicly expressive and visible Afghan women — with hindsight we all know what is coming. Where Moore’s Bond would have an unfortunate jokey, nubile, very Western orientalist, Harem moment, Dalton’s Bond implements decolonisation, even revisionism and post-colonialism, with the Afghan rebels as allies and equals, not exotics. Give or take a sardonic pun or two, ‘cos we’re only just easing out of the Moore era. Whilst the movie can’t resist a bit of ‘exotic chaos’ and culture clashing mis-heaviour in the opera at the end, throughout we see Afghan men who both respect and are prepared to be led by the example, and ideas/voices, of women. They seek to protect and defend a civilian woman in battle. They even turn up to celebrate a woman’s achievements and success at the end. Remembering my sisters in Afghanistan, Iran and everywhere where women are not free, fighting for education, to be respected and heard. This movie is something of a memorial. Women, Life, Freedom.

What Kind of Girl Do You Think I Am?

And despite a Moore/Connery bum slapping moment, this is Bond who likes women and especially likes his woman smart.

Whilst he plays up to his image as eye candy for a car of apparent party girls, they’re just his get-away drivers. In reality, they have a last laugh as they not only get him out of danger, but hijack him to a rendezvous with Felix Leiter (John Terry). But they’re smart — he respects them.

Moreover, he believes Kara has a brain and skills as he gives her a map to navigate at high speed — and a plane to pilot (which she does with unacknowledged adeptness, assisting Bond in his fight against the bomb, drugs…and Necros). (No screaming “James, James” and waiting for rescue for her — she aids her own escape from jail, saves James, gets her own horse, then takes over a jeep — using her own wiles and strategy, fights off someone trying to stop her, and just like her cello, forces James to take her onboard).

Moneypenny (Caroline Bliss) doesn’t get his attention when fawning and flirting — but she does when she’s providing the intelligence he needs, and showing how good she is at her job. This new Bond appreciates women’s personalities and interests! demonstrated in his allyship with the distracting and fiercely intelligent guarder of the gas pipe and ‘pig’ capsule to freedom (Julie T. Wallace’s engineer), or funding Kara’s shopping trip of dreams.

Though at the same time, he treats Pushkin’s partner (Virginia Hey) appallingly and brutally to get access to Pushkin. Gogol is gone, instead we have Pushkin (the wonderful John Rhys-Davies) outraged by Bond’s invasion into his quiet romantic supper. Concurrently, Bond is on his own mission and investigation, finding a way to both deal with Koskov — and Pushkin, and whoever is behind it all.

Is Kara a disposable pleasure? Whilst Bond sees Kara as a leverage to get to Koskov (and insider information), pretending to be a friend of Koskov’s escorting her to a happy reunion, he doesn’t miss her concert or time with her. And he magnificently protects her in an Aston full of gadgets, even utilising her loathsome travelling companion, the Stradivarius cello, to escape. How much of a disposable pleasure Kara isn’t is clearly evidenced in the shock and disbelief in Bond’s eyes when he collapses drugged onto their hotel floor. Real-time we experience Bond realising that Kara did it, and that he was the dupe all along, for Koskov is using her too.

And well, after some infamous sweary eye-rolling, Bond does let her on the plane! (Nothing and no-one will get in the way of this Bond completing his mission). Nor does he shoot to kill when he realises she’s the assassin trained on Koskov initially. Noticeably, unlike her predecessors, Kara doesn’t run around in a bikini at any point — Kara stays clothed, even in the right footwear for running round a Soviet base, on horseback — and driving a jeep. If anything, our eyes are on Bond, in a diverting reversal.

Bond, James Bond — I Believe

And more than anything, although there were terrific stunt people involved, Dalton makes you believe that it could be him, that it really is James Bond, hanging on to a net out of a plane, fighting to the death. Or swinging around on top of a Landy, plunging in to get to the killer. Or planting his own bomb, blending in the local Afghan workforce/enforced workers. This Bond runs, jumps, parachutes, shops and dates with aplomb — and if he’d been there, wouldn’t have let Koskov be taken in the first place…

Interrogating the ‘Special Relationship’ through the corruption of Koskov and very Reganite self-styled militarist and arms dealer Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker), the movie also hints at British-American imperialist mis-funding elsewhere, leading to much of the political chaos of today. And a thawing of East-West relations...from Julie T. Wallace at the beginning to Gogol! Gogol (Walter Gotell) does appear briefly to deal with Koskov (hooray!), ‘cos sometimes the old ways are the best…

• Disclaimer — the author has no idea, and this is pure speculation on her part, being a hater of guns and gun culture*

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