Silent moments in Serenity (( *WARNING SPOILERS ARE INSIDE* ))
POSTED BY: Edge99
UPDATED: Sunday, October 9, 2005 05:37
VIEWED: 13645
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If you accidently clicked this thread there will be some spoilers below, so this is your last chance to turn back! 
I noticed in the movie there were a few really good scenes where body language or actions told a good story where there were no spoken lines. Some of my favorite scenes like this were:
1. After Mal gives his big speech about the Miranda info needing to be revealed to the 'verse at all costs. Of all people Jayne is the first to step up and answer. After answering, Jayne takes a drink and the first person he passes the drink to is Simon. To me this seemed like an important scene, as anyone who was a fan of the TV series knows Jayne never accepted Simon and River as part of the crew and yet here at the possible end of all things the first person he shares his drink with is Simon, almost like saying he finally accepted him.
2. When its decided the crew will hold off the Reavers so Mal can make it to Mr. Universe's equipment to broadcast. As Mal is walking away, he stops and turns around and gives Inara one last look where she returns the look. This scene is amost like Mal wants to tell Inara how he feels about her, but knows there just isn't any time to do so.
There the 2 I can think of right now, if anyone else noticed little silent scenes like these post what they were and what you got from that scene. I didn't read the book or script, so I don't know if these scenes were mentioned in more detail on those platforms. If so, please shed more light on them. Thanks
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The other surprising thing about #1 is Simon taking the drink without making a fuss about it. Like drinking after Jayne was the most natural thing in the world. Mutual acceptance going on there.
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Quote:
Originally posted by oddness2her:
The other surprising thing about #1 is Simon taking the drink without making a fuss about it. Like drinking after Jayne was the most natural thing in the world. Mutual acceptance going on there.
HA! Very true, that never crossed my mind. The old Simon probably wouldn't think drinking from a bottle (let alone a bottle someone else just drank from) would be "proper".
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Quote:
Originally posted by oddness2her:
The other surprising thing about #1 is Simon taking the drink without making a fuss about it. Like drinking after Jayne was the most natural thing in the world. Mutual acceptance going on there.
But you never see the bottle actually touch his lips.
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Quote:
Originally posted by loggerhead:Quote:
Originally posted by oddness2her:
The other surprising thing about #1 is Simon taking the drink without making a fuss about it. Like drinking after Jayne was the most natural thing in the world. Mutual acceptance going on there.
But you never see the bottle actually touch his lips.
Oh, you think he only pretended so as not to make Jayne mad?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Edge99:
2. When its decided the crew will hold off the Reavers so Mal can make it to Mr. Universe's equipment to broadcast. As Mal is walking away, he stops and turns around and gives Inara one last look where she returns the look. This scene is amost like Mal wants to tell Inara how he feels about her, but knows there just isn't any time to do so.
This moment is described thusly in the shooting script:
MAL
You hold. Hold till I'm back.
He takes off -- passes Inara, the two of them holding a look for as long as they can. Then he's in the elevator and gone.
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Another such moment of expressive silence follows the line:
"Am I talking to Miranda now?"
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I loved inara's eyes as she watches the operative come up her steps. at first she's got her gentle welcoming face on, but then she understands what he is, and her smile holds, but her eyes go terrified- INCREDIBLE acting.
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Quote:
Originally posted by oddness2her:
Oh, you think he only pretended so as not to make Jayne mad?
I just really want them to share the moment, and all four times it hasn't happened. Maybe tonight.
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Woohoo! It's the new and improved BDM version of one of my favorite FFFn threads ("nonverbal character moments in Firefly" or something like that). I wanna play 
.
I'll second the change in expression on Inara's face when she first meets the Operative. I thought Morena did a great job with that subtle transition from welcome to concern. Another Inara scene that I really liked was during her conversation with Mal at the very end of the movie where he asks her if she's going back to the training house. Her smile is just so natural looking, so at odds with Inara's normal composure. I remember thinking, "Wow. I think that's the first time we've ever seen Inara geniunely smile." She just looked so open at that moment. It made me realize how great a job Morena had done with Inara throughout the whole series and movie of giving her a perfectly composed mien.
And then there's the scene after River has flipped out and they're back on board and Mal throws Simon on the table. The camera switches to a shot behind Zoe showing her relaxing her grip on her weapon. I liked that subtle reminder that Zoe is always ready. But even more than that is the framing where we can see Wash in the background looking intently at what's going on, oblivious to the fact that Zoe was ready to throw down. It was like the perfect showcase of the differences between Wash and Zoe when it comes to physical confrontation.
I could go through and come up with a moment for each of the main characters but I think that's enough for now. Hopefully this thread will enjoy a long life just like the other one .
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