Faramir

[KnowTheToe]

Mouse & Toe,

I agree with what you say... there was little way to adapt what was happening in the book to the movie without some radical departures.

My disappointment stems from the fact that it was unexpected and took me by surprise. I prefer to be warned in advance so as to change my expectations.

Ed

I understand completely. One of the reasons I was not bothered is the amount of years it has been since I read the books and the fact that I was not a huge fan of Tolkien's writing style. In essance I had no connection to Faramir, so I could not have an issue with the change. I loved the story, but his writing style was a little dry for my taste. I will pick them up again and reread them since it has been 10 years. After all, I have reread many of the classics from High School and really enjoyed them, except, Heart of Darkness, I still thought that was a horrible book (I liked the storyline though).

 

[GreyOne]

I don't like to be a yes-man, but Mouse, I wholeheartedly agree with you. The whole Faramir thing is a strawman.

 

[Dinkeldog]

I really expected Faramir to be cuter in the movie. They make him out cuter in the book, but really Boromir wins out in the movie.

I like the Faramir in the movie primarily because he's a more dynamic character. Through the books there are very few dynamic characters--hobbits minus Frodo, Gimli and Legolas. The rest of the characters really are the same at the end that they were in the beginning. More dynamic characters in the movie make it a more enjoyable experience for me.

 

[Umbran]

Finally got to see the movie last night....

I'd have to say that I think that what was done to Faramir makes good sense from a movie standpoint, when you consider the dramatic needs, and the audience...

As a simple for instance - Faramir's acts are good for justifying Gollum's reaction. In the book, Gollum is taken into custody, and there after treated pretty well by Faramir and his men. In the book, we've got enough exposition to understand how Gullom sees this. In the movie, though, it'd be harder to show this as "betrayal". As opposed to capturing Gollum, hauling him cross-country to Osgiliath, and there havign him exposed to war and a Nazgul...

Similarly, it serves as good time to show the weight of the ring on Frodo - which in the book is handled slowly, over many, many chapters. In the movie they have far less time, but the Faramir section allows them to do it with greater speed...

 

[MulhorandSage]

I hated what Jackson did with Faramir.

Faramir is a frigging symbol. Just as Eowyn is for women who find the idea of a warrior liberating, Faramir does it for guys who consider themselves emotionally sensitive. He's noble, he's elegaic, and he's idealistic and honorable in times of trouble - and those are good things, things worth seeing in men. Giving Faramir more flaws did *nothing* to make him a more interesting character; in fact, the Boromir connection was so underexplored that Faramir just could have been a generic soldier of Gondor and it would have worked better.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the Two Towers, and most of Jackson's changes have worked for me. But downplaying Faramir's ideals because "it's more realistic for a character to have flaws" does a real disservice to the character with little real gain elsewhere in the story.

Imagine turning Eowyn into a nurse with no warrior spirit and justifying it by saying "it was unealistic for a woman to be a capable warrior in this culture". Perhaps that'd even be a defensible argument. But this is fantasy, dammit; the ideals matter, and the characters matter. Jackson nailed Gollum, he captured Eowyn nicely, he did a pretty good job with Theoden (my qualms over his newly acquired resentment against Gondor aside) and he added an interesting new layer to Wormtongue by just showing him shed a tear (sometimes long expositions *aren't* necessary to get across a narrative point). I'm sorry he dropped the ball on Faramir.

And I'm sorry that a few people (more elsewhere than here) have chosen Faramir as a whipping boy to spit on Tolkien's prose, especially when the Faramir sections are some of the best written in the entire trilogy; the contrasts between Frodo, Sam, and Faramir's speech styles makes it a much more accessible read than the Edoras section.

I hope we'll see more of a return to Faramir's poetic form in the extended version and in _Return of the King_. At least I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Scott Bennie