Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2001)

Easily the most visually stunning film of the year, the special effects are worth the admission price alone. Yet even more remarkable is the success with which Jackson and his team have managed the process of adaptation. This has been achieved through two things. First, casting and performances which are utterly flawless, perfectly capturing the essence of the characters  the loving warmth of the hobbits, the isolated nobility of Aragorn, and the tragic weakness of Boromir. Secondly, an elegant and economical screenplay which excises, reworks or re-imagines whole chunks of the novel, without doing any real violence to the story. Indeed, if anything, it is improved by the changes  I certainly found it more exciting, more gripping, and more moving. This is what an adaptation should be: not a simple translation from page to screen, but a transposition from one register to another, making the film the occasion for a new imaginative experience without losing the qualities for which the novel is so loved. That's no mean feat  and if there is any justice in Hollywood, come Oscar time this spectacularly successful effort will be amply rewarded.