Becoming Bond

Becoming Bond is the story of George Lazenby, the Australian plucked out of obscurity and thrust into the role of James Bond, who gave it all up after one movie. It is an unusual documentary, in that there isn’t a bunch of talking heads giving you this angle or that on the story. There’s just George. Literally, just him, all throughout the movie, narrating over re-enactments and archival footage. It’s like an audiobook come to life, or a fireside chat with visuals. It’s an odd tale, and if you’re not interested in Bond in the slightest, it probably won’t do much for you. If you are, it’s a fascinating and bizarre tale of an car salesman who fell into modeling and then fell into the role of a lifetime for his first acting gig, and then left it all behind because it just didn’t feel right.  A lot of time is spent charting his life before Bond, probably 50 minutes or so before it comes up. And the post-Bond life gets about 5-10. So, it’s truly a life story, up until a certain point. And that’s fine, that’s what it’s about — it’s in the title, after all. The re-enactments are sometimes hokey, and when they have known actors play roles, it can get a little jarring. I did a double take when I saw Jane Seymour, and then Dana Carvey pops up later doing a cartoonish Johnny Carson. All in all, it’s fine. Nothing amazing, but fine enough for Bond fans who want to dig a little deeper into the most curious and abbreviated chapter of 007’s filmography. Except for one thing. There’s a moment about 1/3 of the way through where the documentarian stops Lazenby’s narration and asks how much of what he’s said so far is true. And Lazenby’s answer is not 100% reassuring. I’m sure someone will say “why would he lie?”. And to that I say, if the guy making the documentary is starting to suspect some of this is a yarn, why shouldn’t we, the viewers, wonder that as well? And that puts the entire documentary into question, which, you know, kinda defeats the purpose of a documentary. This isn’t F For Fake. It’s a guy telling about his improbable life’s journey to one of cinema’s most iconic roles, and in 15 seconds, he hangs a big question mark over the entire thing. So, yeah, I can say this is for Bond fans, and it doesn’t belabor the point, and Lazenby is an easy listen. But I have trouble recommending it without suggesting you have a salt shaker nearby. You’re gonna need a few grains.