#JusticeForFaramir

It’s usually agreed that Peter Jackson didn’t adapt Faramir very well, but I think the core reason wasn’t screentime or casting, but Jackson’s version of Boromir. By making Boromir much more sympathetic/tragic than his book counterpart, Faramir seems less like a refreshing or relevant contrast.



In the books, Boromir is a pretty big dickhead. He doesn’t grasp the situation at all, and only goes to Rivendell because he was ordered to. He’s constantly asking why they don’t just go to hit Sauron with swords. He’s an old-timey “hero,” and that’s a liability.

Boromir and Denethor value the same things, and Denethor thinks Faramir is a dweeb because he reads books and isn’t obsessed with fighting at all times. Faramir is actually the one who got the summons to Rivendell, but gets taken off the case for taking baths and combing his hair.



Book Faramir’s introduction in Two Towers is a huge left turn. He’s the first human since Aragorn who’s not a huge doofus and immediately recognizes that he shouldn’t even look at the Ring, because he actually knows things and has perspective. Book Faramir is also unique in that he’s the only character to my knowledge who says it’s bad to kill anything, including Orcs. He’s basically in the book to show Frodo that there are Big Folk out there whose value is based on their compassion. And that helps Frodo move forward.



Movie Faramir gets little screentime, and what he does get is essentially “Boromir’s tinier brother who also wants the Ring, but maybe not as much.” He feels weird and superfluous. (His thunder is further stolen in the movies with Aragorn being the one to openly resist the Ring).



I’m not sure why I’m bringing this up in the Year of Our Lord 2019, but there it is.

-AD

