He could be holding nothing but a 3 and a 7 off suit, and you'd never know until he laid the cards down as he raked in the pot.
**SPOILERS AHOY, YE HAVE BEEN WARNED**
The only thing I know for sure about this scene is that this is the day Maurizio dies. This is the outfit he was wearing while riding that bike toward his fateful appointment with the assassin on the steps in front of his office. We know from the costume designer, Janty Yates, that they never repeated an outfit for either Maurizio or Patrizia, so these are his Death Day clothes. The rest of this is purest speculation.
It looks like he's sitting in the shade at a cafe, the rack of bikes in the background. At first glance, from a distance, it appears that he might just be thinking very deeply, absorbed in his own thoughts, his gaze unfocused. But get in close like this, and you realize that his gaze is not, in fact, looking miles away, but is, instead, laser focused on something or someone right in front of him. I'm going to guess it's a person, and I'm also going to guess that they've issued either a challenge or a threat.
If this person were in conversation with Maurizio at the table, his gaze would be level, but we can guess from the angle of his gaze that whoever he's looking at is standing, and is close enough to intrude on his personal space. If this were a friendly conversation, Maurizio would probably lift his chin to meet their gaze, but instead he's defensively keeping his chin level with the table, and gazing up at them from under his brows without exposing his throat. Further enhancing that sense of intransigence, his left shoulder is dipped like he's leaning on the table with his elbow, mulishly refusing to be baited into either standing or looking up.
And then there's this non-expression. From clips we've seen, Adam's portrayal of Maurizio is vibrantly emotional, with vivid facial expressions mirroring those emotions that flit across his face like shadows chasing the clouds that cast them. Which makes it remarkable to see him with this mask-like look on his face, where he is refusing to give ANY hint of his thoughts or internal emotional state. I have no idea why he's being so opaque, but he could probably bluff professional gamblers with this face.
It all makes me wonder if maybe Patrizia sends someone to make him one last "offer" that he refuses, not realizing that it will seal his fate.
Or he could just be enjoying a cup of coffee, his thoughts a thousand miles away. We'll see, soon enough!
Photo used for reference is one of the few HQ promo photos we have of Adam as Maurizio, with thanks to the folks from![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
feedingtherats for sharing it with us.
About 11 hours of drawing time. The colors in this one are brought to you by 8 color overlays and one color gradient map. I spent a pretty long time doing my best to get that soft, fuzzy, tweedy feel to that coat, and it took me two tries to get the pattern on the tie to be anything close to what I wanted. All praise to Janty Yates and her incredible costuming team for creating the beautiful looks we're going to get to enjoy!
**SPOILERS AHOY, YE HAVE BEEN WARNED**
The only thing I know for sure about this scene is that this is the day Maurizio dies. This is the outfit he was wearing while riding that bike toward his fateful appointment with the assassin on the steps in front of his office. We know from the costume designer, Janty Yates, that they never repeated an outfit for either Maurizio or Patrizia, so these are his Death Day clothes. The rest of this is purest speculation.
It looks like he's sitting in the shade at a cafe, the rack of bikes in the background. At first glance, from a distance, it appears that he might just be thinking very deeply, absorbed in his own thoughts, his gaze unfocused. But get in close like this, and you realize that his gaze is not, in fact, looking miles away, but is, instead, laser focused on something or someone right in front of him. I'm going to guess it's a person, and I'm also going to guess that they've issued either a challenge or a threat.
If this person were in conversation with Maurizio at the table, his gaze would be level, but we can guess from the angle of his gaze that whoever he's looking at is standing, and is close enough to intrude on his personal space. If this were a friendly conversation, Maurizio would probably lift his chin to meet their gaze, but instead he's defensively keeping his chin level with the table, and gazing up at them from under his brows without exposing his throat. Further enhancing that sense of intransigence, his left shoulder is dipped like he's leaning on the table with his elbow, mulishly refusing to be baited into either standing or looking up.
And then there's this non-expression. From clips we've seen, Adam's portrayal of Maurizio is vibrantly emotional, with vivid facial expressions mirroring those emotions that flit across his face like shadows chasing the clouds that cast them. Which makes it remarkable to see him with this mask-like look on his face, where he is refusing to give ANY hint of his thoughts or internal emotional state. I have no idea why he's being so opaque, but he could probably bluff professional gamblers with this face.
It all makes me wonder if maybe Patrizia sends someone to make him one last "offer" that he refuses, not realizing that it will seal his fate.
Or he could just be enjoying a cup of coffee, his thoughts a thousand miles away. We'll see, soon enough!
Photo used for reference is one of the few HQ promo photos we have of Adam as Maurizio, with thanks to the folks from
feedingtherats for sharing it with us. About 11 hours of drawing time. The colors in this one are brought to you by 8 color overlays and one color gradient map. I spent a pretty long time doing my best to get that soft, fuzzy, tweedy feel to that coat, and it took me two tries to get the pattern on the tie to be anything close to what I wanted. All praise to Janty Yates and her incredible costuming team for creating the beautiful looks we're going to get to enjoy!
