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Pierre Vinet/New Line Cinema
Elijah Wood as Frodo in "The
Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring," directed
by Peter Jackson.
Pierre Vinet/New Line Cinema
Ian McKellan as Gandalf in "The
Lord of the Rings."
December 20, 2001
A Heroic Quest Through Middle-Earth
By ELVIS MITCHELL
There are two groups probably sharing the
same dread about the film adaptation of J.
R. R. Tolkien's ornate and busy "Lord of
the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
its most loving adherents and those who
have spent their lives avoiding the books.
But neither side is likely to be disappointed
by the director Peter Jackson's altogether
heroic job in tackling perhaps the most
intimidating nerd/academic fantasy classic
ever.
Given that huge portions of the movie are
devoted to exposition (there's a crushing
amount of explanation required), Mr.
Jackson has simmered the novel down to
the most compact action-epic that could be
made of it. As director and co-scriptwriter
(he wrote the adaptation along with
Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh) he
understood that what propels the story
forward are the battles between the forces
of good and evil a word from which
British stage actors can extract at least three
syllables.
One of those British actors, Ian McKellen, plays Gandalf, the wizard
and friend to the Baggins family. Gandalf drops in on the Shire to visit
his hobbit friend Bilbo (Ian Holm) on his 111th birthday. (It's good to
see Mr. Holm and Sir Ian together, even though the special effect
required to make the hobbit diminutive and Gandalf lanky and majestic
interferes with their ease.)
During the celebration, Bilbo passes a ring on to his nephew, Frodo
(Elijah Wood), and this ring places Frodo in the center of a struggle for
the future of the world. The ring, which contains an evil wizard's
"cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life," must be destroyed
in the fire Pits of Mordor, where it was created. Even the towering
Gandalf is afraid of this master ring.
"Fellowship" then slips into a series of chases and pitched battles, each
with a bit more at stake because the ring's power to tempt those who
come in contact with it becomes a bigger factor. Mr. Jackson has
exploited the anecdotal nature by turning "Fellowship" into an escalating
group of cliffhangers. This is the craftiest way to deal with the essence
of "Fellowship," shrinking the border between seduction and greed.
When the ring corrupts each side, what's the difference between those
who want it to do what's right and those who want it for less selfless
reasons?
Tolkien's books were written and passed around from zealot to zealot
long before fantasy became the order of the day in contemporary
popular culture, which is why so much of "Fellowship" will seem
familiar to those who know nothing about them. (Tolkien devotees are
probably still wiping the bad taste of Ralph Bakshi's poky 1978
animated adaptation from their mouths.)
Rather than emphasize the similarities to George Lucas's mythology, Mr.
Jackson gallops straight through them, trimming away as many of the
complications as possible. "Fellowship" may still feel like "Star Wars"
and just about every other otherworldly battle epic of the last 30 years
a whopping composite of Christian allegory, Norse mythology and a
boys' book of adventure. There's not much of a place for women on the
loamy, rich dream scapes of Middle Earth; they enter the action briefly
as if they were dream figures, part of the film's subconscious, like the
glorious Elf queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and the magical Arwen (Liv
Tyler).
"Fellowship" centers on a band composed of the hobbits Frodo and his
best friend, Sam (Sean Astin); the wizard Gandalf; and a pack of warriors
that include the humans Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean
Bean), the angry dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the elf archer
Legolas (Armando Bloom).
Mr. Jackson apparently feels that the way to keep each of the fighting
groups separate in the audience's minds is to provide them with
hairstyles reminiscent of 1970's bands. The hobbits all have heads of
tossled curls they're like members of Peter Frampton's group.
Aragorn and Boromir have the long, unwashed bushes of Aerosmith, and
the flaxen-maned Legolas has the fallen-angel look of one of the Allman
Brothers. (The tubby, bilious and bearded Gimli could be a roadie for
any of them.) "Fellowship" plays like a sword-and-sorcery epic
produced by VH-1. Together, they rock against the forces of Sauron
the evil wizard who created the Ring that Frodo holds. They have to
pass through a cavernous passageway to fight through the assortment of
nightmare creatures that Sauron sends to stop them.
In Tolkien's book, each obstacle represents what is by now a kitschy
level of enlightenment; once it's surmounted, you can never go back.
Though this sadder-but-wiser educational experience is integral to the
story, rather than snip it away, the director lingers on the mournfulness.
When Frodo's band of brothers has to endure its sacrifices, the movie has
a sense of loss. Mr. Jackson gets more feeling into "Fellowship" than he
did with his previous films, like "Heavenly Creatures" and the bracing
shock comedy "Dead Alive" and "The Frighteners" (which contained
milder elements from "Dead Alive"). He's better at this stuff than the
happy shenanigans at Bilbo's birthday bash in the Shire; it's an entire
village of comic relief. Mr. Jackson is a deft filmmaker, though,
combining humor and horror in the same scene so that the actors'
takes of disbelief when yet another menace materializes are so expressive
they seem like part of the storytelling.
The movie gets going once the quest begins and the adventurers hit the
road. Since the actors serve a plot need rather than filling out
characterization, the movie succeeds when the performers quickly
communicate their functions. Mr. Wood's light, tremulous voice for
Frodo and earnest, pointed face offer decency. He sometimes seems to
possess the visage that Michael Jackson has spent a lot of money having
sculptured by man-made means.
Sir Ian's good-humored courtliness goes a long way, especially in his
scenes with his former mentor-turned-nemesis, the wizard Saruman; he's
played by Christopher Lee as if he were still Dracula rising from the
grave. Mr. Mortensen's tendency to withhold as an actor informs
Aragorn's nobility, and he moves well with a sword; it gives him an
action hero's passion, which contrasts with Bean's conflicted Boromir.
If the actors had more to do, the picture might run longer than its current
180 minutes. At that length some may find the movie exhausting, since
those not caught up in the story which will seem reiterative because
Tolkien's prose has been pillaged so often may find themselves
indifferent to "Fellowship." The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's
direction provides a lively, light touch, a gesture that doesn't normally
come to mind when Tolkien's name is mentioned.
"Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is rated PG-13 Parents
strongly cautioned) for the plethora of menacing creatures who eventually
have to be encountered and slaughtered.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
The Fellowship of the Ring
Directed by Peter Jackson; written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and
Mr. Jackson, based on the book by J. R. R. Tolkien; director of
photography, Andrew Lesnie; edited by John Gilbert; music by Howard
Shore with songs by Enya; production designer, Grant Major; special
makeup, creatures, armor and miniatures by Richard Taylor; produced
by Barrie M. Osborne, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Walsh and Tim Sanders;
released by New Line Cinema. Running time: 180 minutes. This film is
rated PG-13.
WITH: Elijah Wood (Frodo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Liv Tyler
(Arwen), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Sean Astin (Sam), Cate Blanchett
(Galadriel), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic
Monaghan (Merry), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Christopher Lee
(Saruman), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Sean Bean (Boromir), Ian Holm
(Bilbo) and Andy Serkis (Gollum).
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