Thursday 19 December 2002

The Two Towers (squeeeeeeeeeeee)

We went to last night's 20:00 hrs showing of The Two Towers at the Odyssey (the very first showing had been earlier in the day, and I had been greatly tempted to go sans Tuxedo, except that divorce proceedings may have followed) and my general reaction can be summed up in a raving fangirrl *squeeeeeeeeeee*

This is a fantastic film; it is, in ways, waaaay better and more complex than FotR (Fellowship of the Ring for you non-acronym-ites).  It is also a very different film, and I am saddened and pissed off at the ignorant folks who complained that it wasn't "as good" as the first film.  To begin with, it's the Second Act of a three-act drama, and thus was bound to be vastly different, and Peter Jackson and co. would have been selling out in a major way if they had kept the same feeling and pace as in FotR.

All dramas - whether books, theatre, film, TV, whatever - follow the (okay I'm being exceedingly simplistic here, so bite me) three-act formula. Act One - introduction of main characters, set up, generally pretty linear. Act Two - not as linear, confusion and muddle reigns as characters get to grips with whatever plot devices have been thrown at them; secondary characters introduced.  Act Two cannot be the same as Act One, nor Act Three, as it's purpose is to further raise/generate suspense levels and forward the action. Action being the operative word in TTT!  Act Three - general regaining of cohesiveness of plot and characters, final decisions and resolution.  Watch any episode of Buffy and you'll see precisely what I mean.  It's not rocket science. 

The Two Towers is thus the perfect second act in The Lord of the Rings drama.   It is less linear in its action and events, there is confusion and muddle and doubt, and some truly sensational secondary characters are introduced (you can't really call Gollum and Eomer "secondary", for fuck's sake, can you?).  The film has a definite feel? sensation? of a deep-seated fragmentation (via direction and photography) which perfectly reflects this and is a brilliant contrast to FotR.  The end of FotR sees the breaking of the Fellowship, and the three "groups" going off on their respective quests/adventures feeling broken themselves, missing and feeling worried about the others, the unknown, seeking direction ...The confusion, angst and frustration of all the characters as they deal with the break-up of their company is very apparent (see; Aragorn kicking the orc helmet in the pile of carnage resulting from the Rohirrim's battle with the orcs/Uruk-Hai - incidentally Viggo Mortensen broke a toe doing that scene so the power of the kick and the look of agony are as real as you could ever get!  Talk about "method acting").

As for the effects - are there superlatives enough?  The battle scenes, in particular Helm's Deep, are fantastically composed and realised, with a depth and attention to detail lacking in many pure action films.  There's so much going on in that battle, all the cut/slash/parry and cuts between the beseiged heroes and those in hiding, creating the need for more than one viewing!  Oh and Haldir and Eomer hmm mmmmm …

Gollum is an incredible creation.  Firstly the character himself, or is that characters for Gollum has two faces as anyone who has read the books would know, but that inherent schizophrenia is amazingly portrayed here: one, the nasty conniving beast who has been enslaved by and to The Ring, which has both ensured his survival yet warped his soul, and the Smeagol-Gollum, a pathetic sad creature, kind of like an abused child in his mixture of fear and eagerness to please.  Then, there's the fact that it is an actor-driven CGI creation - not "just" a total CGI creature like the Cave Troll or Treebeard.  Brit Andy Serkis spent months and months both acting the scenes with Sam and Frodo, and then recreating them in studio wearing a motion capture suit so the graphics whiz-kids could superimpose or composit the Gollum creature over him.  Andy Serkis really deserves awards galore for his performance;  he created Gollum's voice and characteristics and presence as much as, if not more than, and under much more extreme conditions, than say Viggo Mortensen put into Aragorn.  And you know I'm just *this* far off squeeee-ing fangirl-dom when it comes to Viggo!

I was incredibly annoyed that so many people in the audience found Gollum funny, and that his presence was for comic relief. I mean, really, for fuck's sake, he is not comic relief (leave that to the dwarf - some of which was a tad much but I *loved* the dwarf-tossing bit - sheer genius!) but a pathetic, warped and complex character.  Maybe its too much of a leap for some people's brains to make; "it isn't a human therefore it is a Muppet".  This is not Kermit the Frog, people.

I hatehatehate what was done to Faramir though, and I adore and admire David Wenham enormously, which makes it worse - even if one disregards the changes to plot and motive entirely (and one goddamn shouldn't), what is there in *this* Faramir that would possibly make Eowyn fall truly in love with him (as opposed to her hero-worship/crush on Aragorn and who could blame her)?  This Faramir is Boromir Mk II.  The whole point of Faramir is that he is not his father's son in the way Boromir is/was; he is gentle and kind and empathic, and leads his spirited independent Rangers by developing trust and a close working partnership as opposed to a captain ordering the hoi polloi around.

Miranda Otto as Eowyn was just perfect. Glowingly pale, balancing the tough shield-maiden persona with her softer personality following the release/relief from Wormtongue, and beginning to relax and laugh with Aragorn.  Otto uses the subtlest of glances and little smiles to project her growing crush/infatuation/love for Aragorn.  It's all in the eyes. Take some lessons, Liv Tyler - you're like cold porridge in comparison.

I was a Very Happy Girl that the Ents’ destruction of Isengard was included (was I ever worried about that), albeit very much abridged.  I would willingly have sacrificed some of the soppy Aragorn/Arwen near-death/orgasm-face scenes (so unnecessary to plot and character development but good for loo breaks I guess) and the Warg battle for loads more Treebeard, Ents and Merry and Pip!  I was also a trifle pee’d off that there wasn’t more made of Eomer As Hero but here's looking forward to The Return of the King.  You listening PJ?  Give our boy Karl a break eh.

Which brings me to the glaringly obvious; Viggo and Karl, oh Jesus Mary Joseph and all the Saints ... nnnnnnngggghhhhhh *fans face, breathes heavily*.  There are some beautiful seriously sexy menfolk right there, oh my oh my oh my.  Viggo Mortensen's character is of course the main physical hero type in the trilogy, but does a beautiful job of showing Aragorn's doubts and internal conflicts, and also his growing confidence and taking on the leadership role.  Eomer too has some strong moments and conveys a nice sense of conflict and needing to lead his people paralleling that of Aragorn.

I love love love the score – Tuxedo is giving me the enhanced/import for Christmas and oh wow I can't wait.  I'm so keenly aware that what Howard Shore has produced here, in the first two parts and I'm sure the finale will be no exception, is more of an opera than a mere film soundtrack.  I'm just bowled over by the composition and orchestration, and oh of course I love the major role played by and the impact of the choral arrangements.  The new themes (for the Riders of Rohan, Treebeard and the Entfolk, the battle scenes) are brilliant, plus it's great to hear recurring themes from FotR adapted for this movie (the savage industrial theme of Isengard, the Uruk-Hai, Lothlorien).  I am crazy about Gollum’s Song – it reflects beautifully both the sad child and nasty conniving beast facets of Gollum's nature.  Emiliana Torrini sounds eerily like Bjork – did you know she (Emiliana) is half Icelandic (Bjork herself being Icelandic of course, interesting eh) and has toured with Sting and Moby?  I had no idea but intend to look out for her debut album.

Oh and through most of the movie - and particularly the final scenes - any interaction between Frodo and Sam was met by Tuxedo and I whispering "Pass!" "Pass!" "Oooooh pass!" "Mrrrooowwwwl" to each other.  Childish maybe, but honestly ... Both Sean Astin and Elijah Wood seem totally unable to emote "sincerity" without making it look like they want to jump each other's bones reeaaaal bad. 

Gah, I kinda went overboard here didn't I?  I'll try to refrain from further gushing when I see it a second/third/fourth/eighteenth time.