The Disney canon of villains is stocked full of evil witches, puppy murderers, and the devil himself, but you will be hard-pressed to find a villain more dastardly than Gaston. Luke Evans is set to bring the scoundrel to life in the live action Beauty and the Beast, and so far he looks perfect for the part. Empire revealed a new picture of Gaston in full wooing mode over the weekend, and it sums up everything wrong with Gaston's attempts to charm Belle.
Gaston's vanity and misogyny are his twin driving forces. His belief that he is perfect in every single way and everyone loves him feeds into his narcissistic need to claim Belle despite her complete disinterest in him. The new photo is reminiscent of the iconic scene from the animated Beauty and the Beast where Belle walks down the street reading oblivious to the stares of the townsfolk around her. Only in this photo, Gaston is presenting Belle with flowers while she holds her book with the pained look of a woman who just wants to read in peace.
Emma Watson's face says it all. The look of strained politeness, and clear frustration contrast with Gaston's complete lack of self awareness as he holds out a bouquet to Belle, grinning broadly. Gaston is every guy who can't take a hint, and he is unoriginal at that. Belle clearly has no interest in flowers, but since Gaston's interest in Belle only extends as far as her looks it makes perfect sense he would go with flowers rather than a new hardback while attempting to get into Belle's good graces.
There is not much context to go along with the photo, but this could very well be the proposal scene. In the animated film, Gaston's proposal is excruciating in its creepiness. He stalks Belle around the cottage where she lives with her father, invading her space and ignoring the fact that she looks fearful of him the entire time. The live action movie may move the scene to an outdoor space to alleviate some of the discomfort from the original moment.
Then again, this may be when Gaston first decides he has to have Belle as his wife. Going straight for the flowers and ambushing Belle in the street is a total Gaston move. Whatever is happening here, Belle is clearly trying to decline Gaston as tactfully as possible.
The framing makes Gaston look even larger than usual, which only adds to his imposing presence. He doesn't just take up physical space, he gobbles up Belle's personal space as well. If you had any doubt Evans could pull of the balance of pomposity and entitlement that exists in every single one of Gaston's actions, this photo should alleviate your fears.
Gaston is just as unnerving as he ever was, here's hoping Belle gets to shove him into the mud along with his bouquet when the actual scene plays out onscreen.
Image: Disney
