Gemma Arterton as Madeleine Swann?

tshold

On twitter recently, I saw an intriguing thought. Phil Nobile Jr from Fangoria suggested "Gemma as Madeleine Swann would’ve been a whole other ball game" This really got me thinking...what if in an alternate universe, instead of playing the memorable Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace, she had waited a couple years and won the role of Madeleine Swann in Spectre? What do you think?

I explore it in my blog: https://sistraininggear.com/blogs/blog/gemma-arterton-as-madeleine-swann

emtiem

She'd have been great, although I don't think Ms Seydoux is doing anything wrong.

To be honest I think Ms Arterton would have made a better Vesper, although I realise she would have been probably just a bit too young for that at the time.

tshold

No, I don't think Lea is doing anything wrong, but personally, I just like Gemma better and think she'd knock the role out of the park. As for Vesper, yeah she would have been much too young at the time. Gemma would have been 18 at the time of filming.

Number24

I'm a fan of both actresses and I don't think casting Gemma would have solved anything. The problems with Madeleine Swann are from the script, not the actress' performance, I think.

tshold

Zero spark is something that comes up often between Daniel and Lea when I bring this subject up. I'm surprised that the people who cast the film didn't pick up on it during the process and the producers missed it by bringing Lea back for another film.

caractacus potts

I believe there was a thread recently, where we learned Gemma Arterton regretted once having played a BondGirl, with the standard critique about stereotyped representation of woman as passive sexobject in a manly man's world?

I would think seven years later into her career she might pass the chance up altogether.

That said, her scenes in Quantum... were the most fun scenes in the whole film, the only part with the humour of the classic films. I wish her character could have survived a bit longer. I think maybe the sacrificial lamb/secondary BondGirls in all four Craig films are written out too early in the story.

tshold

I agree with you about the Miss Fields scenes - they were great. Gemma did a great job and yes she did talk about regretting her role but I think if she played a stronger character, her tune would be different.

emtiem

I don't think she said she regretted it: she said she needed a job at that point, which is fair enough- we all do our jobs so that we can earn money! 😄

And yes, after that she realised that Bond women have problems in terms of how they're depicted. I'm not sure that Madeline would really have been a strong enough character in the script (and I expect she changed quite a bit while they were shooting: I've never seen that leaked version) to attract her in the first place.

I think she does a great job in QoS- she adds a real spark to things.

caractacus potts

the irony is the other BondGirl in the same film was the most unique, empowered and non-sexualised BondGirl in decades! Ms Arterton just got hired for the wrong part! (from her point of view. Kurylenko was very good and who knows if Arterton could have played that role if asked?)

emtiem

Well, maybe... was Camille all that memorable in the scheme of things? And in terms of being empowered, her whole backstory is one of being dominated by men. Plus QoS is one of the closest of the Bond films to implying that rape is about to happen.

caractacus potts

better than giving it up for the "I cant find the, um, er, stationary line"! I'd be complaining twelve years later too if my character was that much of a pushover!

but yes, Camille is memorable to me, she's got the bird-with-one-wing-down backstory typical of Fleming but never really seen in the films before, she is pursuing her own active action packed agenda when she just happens to meet Bond who is on his own parallel quest, and of course does not sleep with Bond at the end, which was a unique twist, and we definitely can say she was not a sex-object in relation to the male hero.

The fact she was threatened with rape is realistic in that world, definitely not comfortable to see, but empowering in that the very real threat is acknowledged

emtiem

Good point about the one-wing-down Fleming thing, yes, I can see that.

Napoleon Plural

I don't think Artherton has much mystery to her. Not sure if chemistry is always the thing with Bond and his gals - sexual chemistry yes, not always romantic chemistry of the sort that works for Craig's world. It seems the world falls over what a handsome fellow Craig is but never quite the women in his films imo.