The Other Fellow review | Real-life James Bonds in 007’s shadow

★★★★☆

Ordinary men named James Bond navigate a life of unwanted fame, with sometimes dangerous consequences. Read our The Other Fellow review.

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In The Other Fellow, Australian filmmaker Matthew Bauer embarks on an entertaining, humorous, and occasionally harrowing examination of individuals sharing the name James Bond. The documentary pulls back the curtain on a broad spectrum of men from around the world, each bearing the burden (or boon) of sharing a name with a global pop-culture icon and the corresponding embodiment of cinematic machismo. Many of these Bonds – a New York theatre director, a computer programmer, a preacher, and two vastly different men from South Bend, Indiana – candidly reveal their complex relationship with the name. The moniker has brought humour, business prospects, and frustration alike. This sentiment is amusingly captured in the theatre director’s comparison of his physique to the chiselled secret agent: “He has a six-pack, I have a keg.”

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Still, The Other Fellow ventures beyond levity to touch on more unsettling narratives. One harrowing tale follows a woman who experienced gaslighting and domestic abuse at the hands of a charming yet manipulative man she later discovered had a double identity. This dark anecdote is a poignant critique of the toxic and glamourised image of the fictional character’s attitude towards women cultivated over six decades of film history. A standout character in the documentary is Gunnar Schaefer, a Swedish man obsessed with MI6’s finest since first laying eyes on Goldfinger in 1964. Rechristening himself as James Bond in 2007, he runs a 007 Museum in Nybro. Schaefer’s adoption of the Bond persona is both captivating and eccentric, serving as a testament to the cultural influence of Fleming’s character.

The film also takes an insightful trip down memory lane, exploring the origin of Bond’s name. Ian Fleming famously named his suave spy after James Bond, an ornithologist whose work on the birds of the West Indies caught his attention. We’re treated to the fascinating anecdote of the real Bond’s wife demanding a name change in a letter to Fleming and an impromptu visit to Fleming’s Jamaican residence, Goldeneye, amid a filmed interview.

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The Other Fellow is more than just a companion piece to the myriad of Bond-focused documentaries that have previously graced our screens. It is a compelling examination of the unexpected consequences and opportunities of unwanted fame in the digital age. It delicately balances humour and poignancy, probing into real-life Bonds that deviate from the archetypal elite European character. Matthew Bauer’s documentary humanises the legendary name, offering a captivating journey through the various shades of the human experience.