I kind of took it as Jessica realizing her son was no longer the little boy she had raised. For most of the film up to that point she had been guiding him or teaching him, but just prior to that scene he had started to take the reins on their situation and realize his potential.
Rebecca Ferguson really nailed the role. She portrays Lady Jessica in an even more nuanced way than the book does and the relationship between her and Paul was the driving force of this. For all the spectacular visuals in this, the scene that is sticking in my brain the most is post-Gom Jabbar when they are talking to each other through the fog.
absolutely Ferguson's movie through and through her reactions outside during the Gom Jabbar scene made it just so much more intense than it already was
They did a really good job with this so far and that’s saying something! I was pessimistic going into it mostly because I’ve been brainwashed into thinking this book doesn’t translate to screen and I don’t think Villeneuve can do no wrong. Any gripes are minor, I’m glad someone gave it another shot. Really looking forward to part 2.
My biggest gripe was that they played coy about the drinking pee thing Paul: "it recycles the water from your sweat, tears" Me: "and???"
I'm still early in listening to the audiobook as a re-read, but I think the movie is way better than the book?? There's not a lot of description in the book, so what things look like is left to your own imagination. So much of what makes the movie great is the visuals Also appreciated that the movie opens on Chani talking about the houses as oppressors. The book is entirely through the eyes of said houses (at least to the point I'm at) so that at least addresses some of the cultural issues with the story
Feel like this has to be a mortal lock for some technical Oscars next year. Visual Effects and Sound especially.
Matter of preference probably but I really value the different pov perspectives and internal thought process you get from the books (this is the case for virtually all books v movies though). Probably the simplest example is Dr. Yueh, who isn’t much of a character in the movie but in the books you do experience the personal pain and complexity of his betrayal.
I believe some members of the team left work on the spin-off prequel series to complete the treatment for part 2, so yes, I believe it's ready to go, or at least close.