Meursault wrote on Oct 11
th, 2015 at 10:32am:
My premise was that it was a reasonable compromise for a film adaptation, not that it was completely faithful. I agree that in the books Arwen wasn't really a character. More a personification of an ideal of chivalry, like so many female characters in literature from the 1800s (Ivanho is a great example).
But I think having her take on the roles of a number of other minor characters was reasonable. There is no way that even a 9 hour movie could convey the depts of reverence for the power and remoteness of the old elves. It makes for a rich background tapestry in the books, but it's too ambitious for a film adaptation.
Given that the finer points of the background lore will be left out, Arwen is a good choice because she is an elf (at least halfway) so she represents the otherworldly, she isn't Elrond, so he doesn't become too powerful and have viewers think he should have just taken care of it himself, and with a ton of characters to remember having one clearly distinct helps viewers keep track of who is who. Movie goers can't remember as large a cast as book readers can.
Giving her the roll doesn't fundamentally change the nature of the event - the fellowship was still saved by aid from Rivendel.
Faramir's change, on the other hand, fundamentally changed the view of mankind. Faramir represented a pure human with the strength to resist the lure of the ring through his own humility and honor. He would dearly love to lead Gondor to victory and redeem himself in the eyes of his father, but he respects an oath his distant ancestors made to be stewards, not kings.
In the books, he is a shining example of how good ordinary humans can be. Characters like Faramir and Eomer are role models we can both look up to and hope to reach. We can't all be born to the race of Numenor with our blood unthinned by mingling with the common subjects, but we could be the Faramirs or Eomers of our age.
Who did Jackson leave to give us hope? Absent Faramir, what mortal man resisted the temptation of The One Ring? I mean, had it within his grasp, and turned it down because it was wrong. Jackson's portrayal of Humanity is diametrically opposed to Tolkien's!
Well said M.
Having a friend who works in that industry (which is a tough gig), I can appreciate the trade-offs required when changing from the written medium to the visual. Converting a book to a movie is both a boon and a bane. You have a ready made audience, but they also have grounded expectations of a faithful reproduction, which limits your artistic licence. Directors and Producers ignore that at their own peril.
I don't like it when purists nitpick minor details, but like you I also don't like it when changes are made for no logical reason or a key aspect of the book is lost. I hate finding out when a scene is in an odd location and you discover the inane reasoning was because the director just liked that location - even though it is incongruous with the plot/script.
I can understand why the Arwen character served as a plot device and kept the story more simple. That didn't bother me too much.
In a movie you simply don't have time to flesh out a large cast of characters and the viewer understand it, so they tend to stick with a view major character hooks that helps viewers pidgeon hole each one.
"Noble hero", "fallen hero", "troubled hero", "reluctant hero", "bad guy", etc.
Unlike the written medium, you control the pace at which information is conveyed and events unfold, so pacing is so important.
I agree also with what you say about Faramir's role. His role was meant to be a light amongst the darkness in the fallibility of the human soul. It made it much darker for his absence, but maybe that was Jackson's intent. It made the whole overcoming adversity plot device more obvious?
Don't know. I haven't read his memoirs about the making of LOTRO yet.
My only comment was that the first 3 movies told the story fairly well.
I disliked the next 3 - something went awry there. I kept yelling at the Tv, "okay! We get it, the dwarves are sad, move on!!!!!"
It became "days of our dwarves" with all the pouty moody dwarf shots. It's like PJ lost his focus as an action adventure and tried to engineer a character drama. The characterisation overshadowed the story too much.
For casting Evangeline though, I'll forgive him his transgressions in the second trilogy.
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