The Daniel Craig Forum

CheekyNandos wrote:I'll end up seeing it, probably even if it does contain the dreaded Hiddles, but not with the same enthusiasm or on opening night. I may even see it twice if it ends up as good as Casino Royale (hint: my bet is it will not).

I didn't 'know' Daniel until Bond and I was a die hard Brosnan fan. I was like "why did they cast a blond dude". In the past I'd seen The Trench and stuff but never made the connection.

Someone told me about the water scene though and my lil 20 year old self went "ok, yeah, sure I'll go see it."

Went with my mum. We went twice. Probably for the water scene lol.

Been a DC fan ever since and it will remain .

I suspect there are quite a few members here who it was the same for. I love the golden oldies who remember him beyond that though lol.

Sylvia's girl wrote:Did you see Power of One in the cinema Jec?

JEC57 wrote:

Sylvia's girl wrote:Did you see Power of One in the cinema Jec?

I did! (I am getting on a bit..... )
:

Sylvia's girl wrote:

JEC57 wrote:

Sylvia's girl wrote:Did you see Power of One in the cinema Jec?

I did! (I am getting on a bit..... )
:

Me too!

Elaine_Figgis wrote:With JECs permission, I've added her eloquent write up here, so it won't be lost.

JEC57 wrote:Here's what caught my eye and captured my heart.

When he accompanies Colonel Bretyn to see Professor Marais, there is no introduction to who he is. My eyes did slide sideways to him because he "crackled". I can't explain it better than that. To me some actors "crackle" (it's purely a male thing). But at that point he was just a side-order to Colonel Bretyn and I was invested in what nastiness Marais had in store for poor PK.

The next couple of glimpses we get of him he is still just a cop trailing PK, but he manages to convey a growing sense of unease. There is something else about him other than a cop who is just doing his duty, there is an aura of malice in what he is doing that is conveyed with no words, just a very subtle expression in his eyes and playing around his mouth. I must have been a bit slow at that point, because having not read the book before seeing the film, I had not cottoned onto him actually being Botha as an adult.

The "money shot" came for me in the headmaster's office when that crackle grew to a sizzle. The turn of the head and the lop-sided and evil smirk when he sees that PK recognises his name and catches sight of the swastika tattoo on his arm. It is enough to register that this is the grown-up version of PK's childhood bully, and he means to do serious harm. This was a pivotal moment. If whoever was playing the adult Botha had not delivered on that one menacing look, then that particular strand of the story would have been weakened. As it turns out, Daniel delivered with such force that his strand of the story ended up, (imo) stealing the rest of the movie. (Up until that point, for me, the movie is owned by the fabulous Morgan Freeman)

Okay, at that point it could have been just an accident of the actor's looks; after all, who knew who that blond guy was? No way of knowing if he had just been blessed with a face capable of giving a wicked smirk or if he was acting wicked and doing it very well.

But then....the sizzle grew to a deafening roar. Daniel's first lines. He strutted into the boxing club, his gait showing violence tightly leashed, his voice blazing with hatred and vitriol, his eyes glaring menace and intent. I can still remember literally holding my breath waiting to see what he was going to do with all that anger pouring from every sinew. What came next was shocking and violent. When I analysed it afterwards, I could not help but wonder at how well he did that scene. He summed up Botha's lifetime of hatred and bigotry in a scene that lasted just 85 seconds. The others, all competent actors, were just satellites around his portrayal of madness as he took out Gideon's eye.

Starting with torching the boxing club and ending with his death in the dirt at the hands of Gideon, what follows is Daniel's carefully disciplined enactment of rage pelting headlong into murderous revenge. It takes a good actor to make an audience believe in love, but it takes a great actor to make an audience believe in hate. It is an emotion which is so easy to over-play and make unbelievable. Who knows from where Daniel drew that depth and discipline so early in his career to allow him to give such a consummate portrayal of hatred.

With the beauty of hindsight, I have always thought that this was a good early role for Daniel. It allowed him to show something which I believe is his personal trademark, his control. He has an ability to tightly master everything about himself in front of the camera, his body, his voice, his face, his emotions. He is a joy to watch, especially in those roles where he truly flexes his acting muscles.

I think this is a much under-rated film anyway, the twin themes of hatred and racism on the one hand and human endurance and persistence on the other are more than adequately depicted. But the film was made for me by Daniel. His was only a smaller supporting role, but he stole the show. For me, he soared across that screen in a blaze of arrogant and confident glory. I do enjoy watching other actors, but there is only one Daniel Craig and for me, The Power of One was where it all started.

My favourite lines from the movie:
Marias: "Laws define right";
PK: "But do they always define justice"?
Sums up the whole movie!!

CheekyNandos wrote:I need to see some of the old stuff.