“BROSNAN BEFORE BOND”

By Raymond Benson

In 1986, Pierce Brosnan almost became James Bond, nearly a decade before he actually did so. He had been cast to replace Roger Moore as the iconic 007, but at the last minute, NBC waved his contract for the television series Remington Steele at him, exercising the option to make another season. Brosnan was out, and Timothy Dalton was in.

And then… Remington Steele’s new season ended up consisting of only six episodes, finishing its run in early 1987. So, Brosnan had been baited and switched. Nevertheless, in the interim years between then and his appearance in GoldenEye (1995), the actor set about establishing himself as a leading man in feature films.

One of these early starring roles was in the 1988 production, The Deceivers, a British picture made by the elite Merchant Ivory Productions, and it was produced by Ismail Merchant himself. Based on a 1952 novel by John Masters, the film was touted as being based on fact (the screenplay was by Michael Hirst). After a couple of directors, including Stephen Frears, dropped out of the project, Nicholas Meyer signed on. Meyer, known for his work on such titles as Time After Time (1979) and Star Trek II—the Wrath of Khan (1982), seemed to be a viable choice for this action-adventure period piece that the studio hoped would be perceived as something along the lines of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It wasn’t.

The story is set in India in 1825, before the British Raj but when Britain’s East India Company was a heavy influence in the country. The trading company had already come to rule large areas of India, employing military power and administrative functions. Captain William Savage (Brosnan) is a highly regarded employee, and he’s also engaged to the daughter of his boss, Colonel Wilson (Keith Michell). The bride-to-be, Sarah, is played by Michell’s real-life daughter, Helena Michell. After the marriage, all looks rosy for Savage if he keeps his nose clean and doesn’t rock the boat in his job. However, a loosely-organized cult called the Thugee, or Thugs (which, in Indian, means “deceivers”), are terrorizing the countryside. The Thugee brutally murder groups of people in surprise raids. When British citizens and employees of The Company become victims, Savage takes it upon himself to find a way to infiltrate the gang, become a member, and do something to take them down. Of course, to become a member, he must stain his skin color and become an Indian. Against his father-in-law’s wishes, Savage does just that with the help of a repentant Thug, Hussein (Saeed Jaffrey). What follows causes the “dark side” of Savage’s personality to emerge, as he must adopt murderous tendencies to successfully pull off the charade.

The Deceivers has a “literary,” art-house sensibility, as if it were a Masterpiece Theatre episode. At the same time, however, it is brutally violent and deals with a not-so-admirable period of British dominance in a country of people treated as inferior. While the action and battle scenes are well done, the movie might have benefited from a more populist approach. As a result, the film’s lofty attitudes prevent it from being truly gripping or exciting.

There is much to admire, however. For James Bond fans, there is not only the presence of Brosnan, who performs admirably and intensely in the role of Captain Savage, but also production designer Ken Adam, who presents a gorgeous pallet of period landscape and buildings, and main title designer Maurice Binder, whose style of production is easily recognizable in the opening credits.

Cohen Film Group’s new Blu-ray looks fine, if a bit dark (which could be Walter Lassally’s cinematography). It comes with optional English subtitles. There are no supplements other than the original theatrical trailers and an endless array of trailers for other Cohen releases.

The Deceivers may not be an award winner, but it is interesting enough as a period piece, for the pre-Bond performance by Pierce Brosnan, and for its historical milieu that is rarely touched upon in modern cinema.

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