Monologue Analysis

http://www.ace-your-audition.com/support-files/vesper-lind.pdf

Casino Royale (2006)
by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis
Vesper: Alright, by the cut of your suit you went to Oxford or wherever, and naturally think
human beings dress like that. But you wear it with such disdain, my guess is you didn’t come
from money. And your school friends never let you forget it. Which means you were at that
school by the grace of someone else’s charity. Hence the chip on your shoulder. And since
your first thought about me ran to orphan, that’s what I’d say you are...
Oh, you are? I like this poker thing. And that makes perfect sense. Since MI6 looks for
maladjusted young men, who give little though to sacrificing others in order to protect Queen
and country. You know, former SAS types with easy smiles and expensive watches. Rolex?
Ah, Omega. Beautiful.
Now having just met you I wouldn’t go as far as calling you a cold hearted bastard. But it
wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine. You think of women as disposable pleasure rather than
meaningful pursuits. So as charming as you are, I’ll be keeping my eye on our government’s
money, and off your perfectly formed ass.
Even accountants have imagination. Good evening, Mr. Bond.

The monologue firstly starts off with, 'Alright', using a very casual manner to set a certain tone to portray that the speaker is in charge of the monologue, giving a very structured approach. Although it gives a structured approach, the tone of informality is introduced, 'you went to Oxford or wherever', we can deduce from 'wherever', that although this is a monologue in a film, it is meant to come across as a spontaneous conversation, which is why the use of lexis is slightly vague and informal.

Vesper then uses a rhetorical question, 'Oh, you are?', which answers his previous statement, 'that's what I'd say you are...', highlighting the information for the audience, but to also show a constant flow of correct statements after his theories about describing James Bond to the audience. This allows to audience to collect information about the character and their background to understand the plot of the film successfully. Jargon is also used during this monologue, 'poker','MI6', 'SAS types', this is used for the purpose of the mission themed film, but to also make the audience feel involved in the monologue to understand the terms of working under cover.

Whilst the language that is being used is spontaneous, the character that is speaking the monologue gives a strong impression that they are very smart by the sophisticated style of language and choice of words that are portrayed. We can infer that this is because you need to be very knowledgeable and well educated to be in the spy agency. This is also reflected when Vesper is looking down his nose at James Bond, 'my guess is you didn't come from money', the choice of lexis gives the impression that Vesper is an obnoxious character with high expectations and he is skilled at what he does. This is also shown when he says 'off your perfectly formed ass', also injecting a bit of irony to the monologue, as he is giving him a compliment to his good looks and charm, however still raising his standards for the MI6 team.