Where to begin with such a set of movies as the Lord of the Rings? I am at something of a loss for words in my attempt to review this first installment, the Fellowship of the Ring. I suppose rather than explaining the story or detailing the technical elements of the film I will try to explain how this film resonates within my mind and heart.
The film makes such a strong connection with me on a personal level in so many ways that I find it difficult to describe them all. The friendship that the main four hobbits share is not at all unlike the friendships that I share with my friends. We don’t bother ourselves with many female distractions; we spent some of the most significant years of our lives living and adventuring together; and we are unquestionably devoted to one another. I know that I will move on, my friends will move on, time and distance will separate us, but the bonds that we forged in the short time we were together will never be broken. The connection established by the four main hobbits is, for me, a reminder of what my life was like during the best of times with my closest friends. Regardless of whatever is happening in the story, these four hobbits are all together through everything. These hobbits share a level of camaraderie that nearly every human being has experienced before or wants to experience at some point. The viewer is drawn to them like a magnet because everyone either has or wants friendships as close as these hobbits. The emotional response lifted from the viewer is quite a powerful experience, whether the emotion is appreciation for the friendships established or the longing desire to reach such a level of devotion.
Specifically, the relationship Sam and Frodo share is one that, for me, is extraordinarily powerful. To have a friend who is devoted to you wholeheartedly, with no regard for his own wellbeing is a concept that nearly brings me to tears. I am not one to cry at movies, or even in general. Not because I consider crying a sign of weakness or that I think myself too “manly” to cry…I just don’t really cry very often. But this movie manages to pull tears from these eyes nearly every time I see it. If my emotional response to the four hobbits’ friendship is one of appreciation for the friendships in my own life, my emotional response to Sam and Frodo’s friendship is one of yearning. Granted, I will probably never be put into a situation like Frodo, where it is required that a friend give of himself unreservedly to my safety and wellbeing but my desire to have a friend willing to go to such astronomical lengths is brought to the surface by the honesty, the raw emotional vulnerability portrayed in Sam and Frodo’s friendship. And perhaps even more than wanting to be the recipient of such attention, this film awakens the desire for me to be the kind of friend that Sam is to Frodo. After all, the real hero of the film eventually turns out to be Sam, not Frodo. Frodo gives in to the pressure eventually; he gives it his best, but at the point where he can go no further it is Sam who carries Frodo on his back the rest of the way. The reason this film resonates so deeply in me is because of the portrayal of this friendship.
On a more practical level, there are few (if any) elements of this movie that I have any sort of negative view on. This latest viewing drew my attention to Sean Bean’s performance as Boromir, the hero from Gondor. Sean Bean manages to bring a sense of well intentioned but misguided passion for his character’s pursuing the Ring. Where, in earlier viewings, I saw him mainly as a selfish character that pursues the Ring in order to make himself more in the eyes of his people and his father, this latest viewing I found myself seeing him more as a protector who has been driven to desperation. His people stand on the brink of destruction (as they are the nearest geographically to Mordor) and their hope is almost gone. It crossed my mind, what if my family, my mother and father, my brother, were in mortal peril? Would I throw away what seems to be the best chance to ensure their survival? I see now that Boromir is doing what he believes he must do to fulfill his duties as heir to his father’s responsibilities. The pressure lowered on his shoulders to find and bring back salvation to the battered, hopeless people of Gondor is what drove him to his desperate attempt to take the Ring from Frodo.
One particular facet of the DVD that I wish to draw attention to is the special features. I don’t believe there has ever been, nor likely will be again, such an in-depth glimpse of how a movie is put together. I appreciate so much, as both a fan of movies and a student of film, the level of detail that is outlined so clearly for us in these DVDs. Every step, from conceptual art to post-production is explained to us in such a way that the viewer almost feels like it is experienced first-hand. Filming techniques are explained, story and dialogue are detailed, tours of the prop workshops are conducted, sound production is covered and digital effects are explained, just to name a few. There are overall about 5 to 6 hours of special features contained in these discs, and every second is worth viewing (for those curious and those studying film).
I quite simply cannot say enough about this first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story is fantastic as are the effects, performances, new techniques, old techniques, but the real reason this film is of such a high caliber is the emotional resonance stirred up inside the viewer. It is a difficult concept to put into words, and perhaps even more to intentionally evoke from your audience, and therefore all the more reason to heap praise on Peter Jackson and his team from New Zealand. For me, I think I could perhaps imagine another film reaching the same emotional heights alongside the Fellowship of the Ring, but I daresay it won’t be topped. A masterpiece.
10/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Directed by Peter Jackson
Produced by Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders, Fran Walsh
Written by: (Novel) J.R.R. Tolkien; (Screenplay) Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis
Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images
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