However,
in the same moment, parts of the movie were glorious. As both Jacob and
Eric noted, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, translated to the big
screen, is awe-inspiring (even with the elephant surfing -- after all,
they had to top the shield-surfing of the previous movie). The climax of
the film, especially the Frodo, Sam, and Gollum half of the climax, is
masterfully done. (More on these two setpieces later on.)
But do the good parts of the movie make up for the bad parts? I'm left uncertain. Like Two Towers,
I watched this film in three installments. The first hour takes us to
Shelob's Lair and the muster of Rohan. The second hour finishes out the
Battle of the Pelennor. And the final hour includes the climax and
denouement. But unlike Two Towers, I felt like the pacing here
was more uneven. The setpieces, while largely visually spectacular, were
interspersed with bad humor and cringeworthy emotional beats. Some of
the plotting seems questionable, in light of the intricacy of how the
book plays out. Even some of the visual effects felt less impressive
than in previous films.
First, touching on a
couple of main plot points. Why does the movie have Frodo believe that
Sam is eating all of the food? Does that make any sense, given what
we've seen to that point? This subplot is in place to awkwardly separate
Sam from Frodo so that he can charge in later "unexpectedly" (as if a
single viewer didn't believe that Sam wasn't going to save the day after
Shelob wraps up Frodo). But at what cost? It effectively deletes
Gollum's aborted redemptive arc from the film; gone are the beats such
as where Gollum watches Frodo sleep and then Sam foolishly berates him. I
know Two Towers covered a lot of that ground already, but Gollum
is in full-on villain mode in this film, and I think it is a less
complicated, less interesting film as a result.
Second,
Denethor has lost all his nuance in the film. I can recognize the
beauty of the charge of the Gondorian cavalry, juxtaposed with Denethor
slobbering over his dinner and Pippin's melancholy song hovering in the
background. It is a masterful piece of technical and emotional
filmmaking. But it comes at the cost of Denethor's complexity; the
internal conflict; the question of how much of his actions were because
of Sauron's corruptive influence and how much because of personal
weakness; his moments of true leadership before the final collapse. Even
his demise is altered; instead of making the affirmative choice to end
his life in the face of his insurmountable despair, here he is knocked
back into the burning pyre by Gandalf's horse, of all things, while he
is in the middle of strangling Pippin (or something; Pippin spends a lot
of this movie screaming randomly with his mouth wide open) and burns up
rather accidentally (and then runs and throws himself over the edge of
the city? Well, now you're burning alive AND falling to your death, not
sure that really solves anything). It's all blockbuster cinema, but I
think hewing closer to the source material would have been just as good
if not better.
I could go on. Probably the
runner-up is the fact that the film spends SO MUCH time on Eowyn in the
first two-thirds, and she is completely and utterly forgotten in the
final third. At least Tolkien tried to give her some closure.
Film Eowyn is just abandoned. But in any case, what continually pulled
me out of the movie more than plotting decisions was emotional beats.
I feel like Peter Jackson is fully committed to the emotional poignancy of the book. Return of the King is
a wrenching text in many ways, dealing with loss and fear and death and
perseverance in the face of hopelessness. And much of the film treats
this subject matter well. Aragorn's speech before the Black Gates
captures very poignantly and cinematically this particular theme. But
boy, are there some duds squatting perversely in the midst of this film.
Pippin's silent shrieking, as the camera tilts wildly, as he grips the palantir, made me cringe and roll my eyes. Merry's goofy smiles at, well, basically everything ("Milady!" he squeaks, with a foolish grin on his face, as Eowyn scoops him up onto her horse, is just one example of many.) Sam's blubbering. His quivering bottom lip could receive its own billing in the credits. And Frodo's smiles. Oh, those smiles. I am not one to read unintended undertones into films where I think the filmmakers did not intend them. But the cinematography, angles, lighting, and expressions the director has these characters make (Frodo and Sam in particular) leave me firmly convinced that Sam and Frodo are either a current romantic item or are desperately longing to become one. (Frodo actually kissing Sam at the Havens, but slighting Pippin and Merry, does nothing to discourage this view.)
And oh, that bedroom scene. The bedroom scene.
Gandalf's forced laughter. The members of the Fellowship coming in one by one (even the ones that we never saw Frodo develop a relationship with or even interact with, like Legolas and Gimli). The hobbits jumping on the bed. Then more jumping on the bed. Then Merry or Pippin randomly hurling themselves backwards onto the bed. Then Sam's entrance, with the sun shining so fake behind him and Frodo's lopsided, contorted expression of love on his face. That scene ripped me out of the movie so much the first time I saw it, and still does today. It's one of those scenes that makes a moviegoer embarrassed to be in the theater when it comes on.
There is much to love about the film. The scope of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is breathtaking. When the Rohirrim arrive, and the CGI horsemen line up on the hilltop, you cannot help but feel something like joy stirring within you. I think the end of Two Towers does it a little better, with Sam's speech interspersed between images of victory halfway across the world, but this is good too. Really, anything in the film that involved Bernard Hill as Theoden, and Miranda Otto as Eowyn, was phenomenal. Bernard Hill in particular steals the movie once again. His frustrated statements about Gondor at the beginning, juxtaposed with his selfless decision to ride to their aid when they ask for it. His speech to the men at Dunharrow and then before the final battle, again addressing that need for valor and perseverance, even in the face of hopeless, soul-crushing odds. "We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor," Gamling says. Theoden replies, "No, we cannot." And then, after a pregnant pause, "But we will meet them in battle nonetheless." Basically everything about Theoden and Eowyn is perfect in this film, down to the last moment where they repeat their conversation from Two Towers: "I know your face..."
Similarly, the scene preceding the destruction of the Ring is masterfully done. Frodo succumbing to the Ring's seductive influence is just as terrifying on the big screen as in the text. Gollum's treacherous strike against Sam is unexpected and cruel - Gollum at his most sinister. I loved how Sam's words mirrored Elrond's to Isildur, that we saw in flashbacks in Fellowship, but with a hobbit-like twist that made the desperate plea his own. When I first saw the film, I was frustrated with how Frodo attacked Gollum after his finger had been bitten off, and how that struggle was what led to the Ring going over the edge; I thought that they should have stuck with Gollum slipping and falling like in the book. But upon this rewatch, I find myself pleased with the juxtaposition of Gollum and Frodo: Gollum has literally nothing left but the Ring, to the point of holding it up out of the lava for as long as he can before he is incinerated. Frodo, on the other hand, chooses to live, even if it is just for Sam: "Don't you let go!" Sam shouts, knowing Frodo's temptation of hurling himself after his Precious.
I
stayed away from reviewing the film for its major themes, because Jacob
and Eric touched on those so eloquently. For what it's worth, I think it
conveys a powerful message in a (generally) effective way. As a work of
entertainment, it's less effective, because of the sketchy parts I
outlined above. All in all, a good film, but not a great one. Fellowship is still the best, and I would put this one (surprisingly) behind Two Towers as well.
And that's a wrap, folks!
...who wants to read The Silmarillion with me?
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