M, who in every movie is usually irritated by Bond and always chastises him, backs him up twice. First when Bond says he saw Derval's dead body at the health clinic the night before even though he was also seen on boarding the NATO bomber that went missing. Bond's word is enough for M to initiate inquiries. Later in London when the home secretary grumbles about Bond's search for the stolen warheads in Nassau having appeared to run dry, M stands up for him.
This is the mark of a good boss. It's one thing to be critical to you. It's another to be critical of you.
A brief villainous example in the beginning of the film. During the SPECTRE briefing, one of the chairs is empty, a reference to the death of Jacques Bouvar in the film's teaser. Blofeld informs the group of Bouvar's death, and says that "his services will be greatly missed."
A behind-the-scenes example: during the shoot actress Molly Peters (who plays the physical therapist, Patricia) was going through some difficult personal issues. One day Sean Connery found her crying on the set. He put an arm around her and demanded to know who had been mean to her. She explained that it was personal and he took some time to comfort and cheer her up.
The Novel
Domino has quite a few:
Telling the story of her "hero" to James, or rather, the sailor on a packet of Players cigarettes, who gave her hope and strength throughout her fairly rough life. Not only is it refreshing from all the tension and danger in the previous chapters, it speaks true to every single person who's been motivated by their favorite fictional character.
Her brother may have been a rogue, a traitor and a playboy, but his death motivates Domino strong enough to not say anything to Largo during her brutal interrogation.
Just how much does Domino love Bond? She uses all her remaining strength to pull him to safety, even after being tortured and badly burned by Largo.
Bond pleading with the doctor to see Domino, even though he's heavily injured.
And then him passing out on the floor next to Domino's bed, who tells him not to go. Awwww!
James and Felix' relationship throughout the novel. Their friendship is particularly warm throughout this book, and watching the usually taciturn James trade banter with Felix genuinely makes them feel like best friends rather than partners. Then, during the final underwater battle, Bond drops everything to drag Felix to safety when he sees his friend is struggling, even though Felix keeps on reminding Bond that the mission's still unfinished.
