Sévérine



Sévérine is a fictional character who appears in the 23rd James Bond film Skyfall (2012). Played by Bérénice Marlohe, Sévérine is a former sex slave who works as an accomplice of Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). She collaborates with James Bond (Daniel Craig) to stop her boss, but is captured and killed by Silva.

Marlohe had secured the role after two auditions for director Sam Mendes and casting director Debbie McWilliams. She looked to Xenia Onatopp as a point of inspiration for her performance. Distancing herself from the Bond girl title, she interpreted the character as more modern and realistic. Costume designer Jany Temime designed Sévérine's wardrobe using concepts from film noir as well as contemporary fashion, with close attention paid to the black dress she wears when meeting Bond in a Macau casino.

Following Sévérine's first appearances in promotional materials for Skyfall, film critics noted that the character was a return to the classic elements of the James Bond films, specifically Bond meeting a beautiful and mysterious woman. Critics had a mixed response to Sévérine when compared to previous Bond girls. Reception to Bond's treatment of Sévérine was largely negative; commentators panned Bond's seduction of the character after discovering that she was a sex slave, and his cold response to her death. However, some critics defended Sévérine's story arc as appropriate for Bond's character development. The character has also been a topic of racial criticism, with writer Lisa Funnell arguing that Sévérine was characterized as the Asian other.