In this Middle Ground, Gollum is Gold

Well, December has come and gone, and with it the second round of frenzy over Peter Jackson’s blockbuster version of Lord of the Rings. (This time, sadly, there was no Burger King campaign to accompany it – I still have to get the Gandalf goblet from last year and more of the toys than I’d like to admit. If they do it for the third movie, I will draw inspiration from my uncle, be proactive, and harass those clerks every single day until I have all of the figures in my possession!) The Two Towers has the misfortune of being the middle volume – no beginning and no end, and an awful lot going on. It is a film I would not recommend to someone who has neither seen the first movie nor read the books, as it is potentially confusing enough for the initiated. Nonetheless, it stands alongside the first movie as a masterpiece, with a few quibbles here and there.

Towers begins with a flashback to Fellowship, this time following Gandalf (Ian McKellen) along his descent after the balrog. The scene provides an impressive opening and effective bridge, reminding us of a significant moment in the first film and foreshadowing a significant moment in the second. Gandalf was unquestionably the most popular character in Fellowship, and the advertisements made no attempt to hide the fact that he would be back. While the return of the beloved character was not so obvious as it was in the Star Trek series (i.e. The Search for Spock), there was little doubt that Gandalf would make an appearance in Towers. Nonetheless, when he displays himself before the awestruck Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), it is a spectacular moment indeed, eclipsed only by his dramatic exorcism of King Theoden (Bernard Hill) of Rohan, who is under the control of Saruman (Christopher Lee). Gandalf here is a changed wizard, much more supernatural and ethereal than the kindly, sometimes curmudgeonly old gentleman of Fellowship. McKellen’s acting is again superb, but he spends much less time onscreen in this movie and probably will not get an Oscar nod as a result.

For that matter, because the Fellowship is divided, no one spends nearly as much time onscreen as they did in the first movie, except perhaps Legolas and Gimli. Their unlikely friendship develops further in Towers, with Legolas playing the part of earnest warrior and Gimli serving up generous helpings of comic relief. Legolas manages to pull off some pretty impressive, if sometimes un-Tolkienish, stunts during the climactic battle of Helm’s Deep, and he has some touching moments in relation to his fellow Fellowship members. And, of course, there is the small matter of his status as “too-gorgeous-for-words”... Gimli is gruff and lovable, providing a more experienced source of comic relief in this movie than the innocent mischief of Pippin (Billy Boyd) in the first. Especially enjoyable is the discussion he has with Eowyn on dwarf women and his plea, after telling Aragorn to toss him into the fray of battle, of “don’t tell the elf.”

It’s a good thing Gimli provides the comic relief he does, because Pippin’s role in this movie is so slight as to be practically nonexistent. He can’t have more than about a couple dozen lines in the whole movie, which is a darn shame because the adorable Scottish rogue hooked me so completely after Fellowship. Merry’s (Dominic Monaghan) role is similarly scant, though he does get to deliver a couple of mini-speeches. The Merry and Pippin part of the story is definitely the one that gets the least air time; it comes mainly in two- or three-minute segments, few and far between, in which the young hobbits spent most of their time looking awestruck or terrified. I would have liked to see more of their conversations with Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies), but I also agree that it was the easiest part to cut. What we see of Treebeard is enjoyable; he is looming and deliberate, and he and his fellow ents pull off one of the most impressive scenes in the film when they launch an enraged attack upon Isengard, home of their former ally Saruman.

I complained that Pippin upstaged Sam (Sean Astin) in Fellowship. That certainly is not true here. Sam shares the spotlight with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Gollum(Andy Serkis) in what I think are the most compelling scenes in the film. Doggedly loyal to Frodo, he continues to protect him at every turn. The flip side of this is an intense mistrust of Gollum, who the two encounter early in the film. While Frodo is able to empathize with the creature, Sam, who has not felt the ring’s weight, sees Gollum only as a contemptible threat. Thus, he comes across as being rather unsympathetic in many of his scenes; at many points, he even seems jealous of Gollum. But he also manages to save Frodo on more than one occasion as the ring grows ever stronger, and he delivers a stirring speech towards the end that is most heartening. In the last scene, when the two ponder whether anyone will ever write tales about their adventures and Frodo acknowledges that he “wouldn’t have gotten far without [Sam],” it is one of the most moving moments thus far in the series.

Frodo, of course, is very important, and we see the ring begin to take control over him. The change is visible when the ring takes effect; his gentle features contort into a sneer, and at one point he turns his dagger Sting upon Sam in his madness. At the same time, the growing weight of the ring allows him to empathize with Gollum, of whom he once said “it’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill him when he had the chance.” In Gollum he sees a glimpse of his possible future, and he is desperate to believe that Gollum can be redeemed. The two form a bond, and Frodo is the only character to call Gollum by his true name, Smeagol, a gesture which Smeagol appreciates.

Gollum / Smeagol is probably my favorite character in this film. I always had a soft spot for Gollum, and the film portrayal of him is nothing short of perfection. Although Gollum’s body was created with CGI, Serkis acted out all of the scenes with Frodo and Sam in addition to doing the voice work. The character comes across as a split personality: meek, eager-to-please Smeagol and vicious, domineering Gollum. They have different voices and different facial expressions, and their conversations with one another are masterfully executed. The audience is able to see Gollum in a sympathetic light and hope that Frodo will be able to bring about his redemption. With all of the wonderful aspects that Towers has to offer, Gollum is, to my mind, the highlight of the film, and Serkis deserves an Oscar nod for his portrayal.

Aragorn probably has a little too much of the spotlight here, but that’s forgivable. He is the valiant warrior as well as the only romantic interest, at least thus far. In this film, there is still more focus on his relationship with Arwen (Liv Tyler), as she must decide whether to sail West with her people or forsake her immortality for Aragorn’s sake. Tangled up in this is Elrond (Hugo Weaving), her solemnly regal father, who shares a heartbreakingly tender scene with her, and Eowyn (Miranda Otto), niece of King Theoden, whose unrequited love for Aragorn grows as the film advances. Eowyn is the voice of feminism in the film, a woman of Rohan discontent to hide herself away instead of fighting the enemy. She longs to face the foes head-on like her valiant brother Eomer (Karl Urban). The warrior spirit she shows in this film prepares us for an important role she will play in the final film.

King Theoden is a truly eerie presence in the beginning of the film, and his recovery at the hands of Gandalf is breathtaking. As a monarch, he is determined to lead his people to safety and fight the forces that threaten them; as a man, he is devastated at the loss of his only son and emotionally overcome. His evil, Jafar-like adviser, Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), is deliciously sinister, eliciting shivers from the moment he appears. His slimy voice, pale skin, and nonexistent eyebrows add to the picture, making him far creepier than Gollum; when he tries to seduce Eowyn, there is a great urge to slap him in the face. Yet as despicable as Wormtongue is, he may have some small store of compassion holed up inside him; when he hears Saruman’s plan to wipe out the entire population of Edoras, a silent tear trickles down his cheek.

Probably my biggest disappointment with the film was the treatment of Faramir (David Wenham). I always liked Faramir, and felt rather sorry for him. He always seemed to me a sort of everyman, a really decent guy living in the shadow of his more passionate brother Boromir and the more heroic warrior Aragorn. A “nice guys finish last” sort of fellow. I felt cheated when he showed up in Towers. He is scarcely likable at all. He comes across as sinister, brutish, and, as Gollum would say, “tricksy.” He also manages to effectively destroy in a few moments the trust Frodo built with Gollum. Not cool.

The landscapes and cinematic sweeps are again most impressive, though rarely beautiful as they often were in Fellowship. There is very little beauty in this movie; all of the landscapes are harsh and the situations are grim. Likewise, there is much less levity. Towers, on the whole, is quite a downer. But there are moments of triumph and light, from Gandalf’s blaring splendor to Sam’s gentle stoicism. The haunting score that so enhanced Fellowship again comes into play, and as the sweeping theme music of the fellowship creeps into such inspirational moments as Sam’s words of comfort to Frodo, don’t be surprised if you find your heart soaring along with the strings.

Overall, Towers is an outstanding second volume, the most difficult to pull off. It is confusing, as the fellowship is dispersed and there is so much happening at once. It is distressing, and it has no definitive beginning or end. But this is as it should be. We are set up for the final volume, and if the first two are any indication, as I am sure they are, Return of the King promises to be a most glorious finish indeed.