Rooms on Film: The Bourne Legacy

This action flick is a lot of fun! Tense, exciting, covers lots of climates and locales. As is typical of a Bourne film, everyone was dead serious. There isn't much room for comic relief. If someone smiles before the last five minutes of the film, they probably don't mean it. By far, the most arresting interior location was this rural Virginia mansion owned by Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz). Still very firmly in fixer-upper status, this house was completely breathtaking. From this wonderful oval staircase to the worn gray exterior, it was a marvel of great bones and light. The abundant potential was evident in every shot.

Brace yourself, this ends in flames. 

We meet the house on the last day of it's long life. Dr. Shearing, survivor of a massacre, is trying to get the hell out of town. Unfortunately, top secret government work means you can't get out. Ever. If she'd ever watched La Femme Nikita, she'd know that. 

dig those shutters and the niche in the corner

Agents arrive at Marta's home to debrief her on the massacre and we get some quick glimpses as she travels through the impressive structure.  

daylight feeds through from tall windows in front and back

We get to enjoy the divine staircase view from the top floor down as Marta descends.

The curved walls seem to highlight the daylight feeding down the staircase. Maybe a carved bench was there when the house was new?

front hallway and basement door behind the stairs

This seems to be a dining room between the kitchen and study. It opens directly onto the enclosed back porch which leads out to the backyard.

The blue cabinetry and scraped blue walls lend an air of cold light to the kitchen which is very rough at this stage.

new cabinet houses the refrigerator and dishes

The original built-in storage is lovely, as well as the newer built-ins that seem to be custom added to match the new cabinetry.

The kitchen also opens onto the huge back porch. 

you can see arched doorways in this shot

To the side of the kitchen is a lovely breakfast nook with a bay window which Marta is currently using for a laundry room.

Just as the discussion takes an unpleasant turn, our marquee superagent, Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), intercedes. The ensuing chaos allows us a further tour of the house, inside and out.

 

a swift tour of the back porch which includes an old smeg fridge

looks like the breakfast nook has an arched doorway too

marta's study

Superagents do not need stairs, fire escapes or conveniently placed trellises. Just a running start and they can scale your clapboard in no time.

The staircase is truly the jewel of the house. It allows light to flow advantageously and also offers interesting angles and curves to the interior view. Question: does anyone ever wallpaper the underside of a staircase? Or paint it an accent color? This one gives me ideas.

The situation contained, our heroes opt to flee for their lives. In a last ditch attempt to get "out" they burn Marta's rehab to the ground. ...The humanity!

We hardly knew ye...