Input From David Harbour Led To One Of Black Widow's Most Profound Scenes
Though it took far too many years to get a solo film for the titular character, Marvel's "Black Widow" finally arrived in 2021. Despite the fact that Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson) had already died in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by that point, at least we got a proper send-off for the character and the introduction of Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, the clear MVP of the film.
We also got a really fun performance from David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian, who, along with Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), acted as sleeper Russian agents living in Ohio with the young Yelena (Violet McGraw) and Natasha (Ever Anderson). At the beginning of the film, these four are living as a family undercover, but when they're made, they have to take off in a rush for a flight to Cuba, in fear for their lives. Harbour made a suggestion for that sequence that gave it more emotional depth than it would have had otherwise, as he explained during an interview with Insider in 2021.
Put in the tape, Red Guardian
If you recall the sequence, Melina is at home with the girls when Alexei tells her the news that they've been caught and have about an hour to flee the country. While Natasha seems to comprehend that there's something wrong, little Yelena is really too young to understand what's happening. When they get in the car, Alexei and Melina are clearly upset but try to hold it together for the kids — partly from affection, but partly to keep them from getting upset and blowing their cover. As they drive, Yelena asks for something, and that request came from Harbour's suggestion. He explained:
"We were sitting around talking about the family structure and in the bedroom scene with Red Guardian and Yelena Belova, my character is fumbling trying to be a father and in the end, he fails. She tells him to get out. In the script, he says something and leaves.
"I felt there's gotta be something a little more profound and I said, 'Wouldn't it be interesting if back in America when she was little and was terrified having been taken from her family the Red Guardian would put her in the car and drive around and play 'American Pie'? So from then on, she tells daddy to put in the tape.'"
Black Widow's story is rooted in tragedy
The escape from America set to the 1971 Don McLean song "American Pie" is a pretty poignant moment. While it might seem a bit on the nose at passing glance, thinking about the song sort of cements what the whole thing means. "American Pie" is fun to sing at parties with your friends with easy harmonies, but it's really about the loss of innocence in America as rock 'n' roll progressed through the turbulence of the 1960s, the plane crash that killed musical icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, and the movement of the culture.
It fits pretty beautifully, with young Yelena and Natasha losing their innocence and being forced into Widow training in the Red Room right after this moment. It also took away the admittedly fake version of American family life that Alexei and Melina seemed to enjoy despite their loyalty to their home country. They really did end up caring for each other, as is evident from events later in the movie. The song is also the death of the potential lives the girls could have led. Sure, they end up saving a lot of people later on, but the darker things they've done are going to follow them forever. If that domestic life had really been theirs or if they'd been able to hold onto it longer, the world could look very different. It was a perfect song for a pretty heartbreaking scene.
"Black Widow" is currently streaming on Disney+.