epic filmmaking as it should be!

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2002)

No I won't be silenced about this film! No, it hasn't quite reached obsession!

Alright. A quick plot summary, as if you don't already know. Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm), having reached his 111th birthday decides to take off on a last adventure, like he used to in the old days. He leaves to his adopted nephew/heir, Frodo (Elijah Wood) his property and a mysterious ring, which Gandalf (Ian McKellen), the wizard bids Frodo to keep "secret and safe". Of course, as oft happens in these cases, the ring turns out to be the One ring, created by the dark lord Sauron, millennia ago, with the power to enslave the whole of middle earth. So it is that Frodo must leave his idyllic existence in the shire, with his friend Sam Gamgee (Sean Astin) and later superfluous hobbits Merry and Pippin and trek across middle earth to finally take the ring to be destroyed. Along the way, and after much peril, Frodo is joined by men Aragorn and Boromir, elf Legolas and Dwarf Gimli. So the fellowship of nine, in a nutshell, is formed.
What can one say? It's a film that I was waiting for a year and a half for. I was trying to ready myself for disappointment. And so, at 9:50am, Wednesday 26 December, during the first session of LOTR in Brisbane, Australia, I was to finally see this film, for which I had pined, ached to see for so long, and the result was... pure bliss!
So much had been riding on this film. And so brave it was to make all three at once, but it has paid off for the first instalment at least, and created such a marvellous cinema experience that I could hardly contain my excitement when I emerged from the cinema three and a half hours later, feeling rewarded for the experience as I noticed the huge line-up for the fourth session.
The opening of the film, not just the introduction but the whole Hobbiton sequence, was just perfect. It was so pure, so idyllic, so wonderful, rich. It was best we could hope for for the introduction into this world of hobbits, their tranquil, simple existence, which would be sharply and horribly contrasted with the sudden emergence of the evil bound to the ring. And from then on this sprawling epic took us on a journey rarely experienced by cinema audiences.
It is HUGE! It's on such a mammoth scale that you feel breathless watching these beautiful images, these sweeping crane shots, this massive view of a mythic world. Middle Earth is so convincing and not once did I think of it as a fantasy, more of a rich history. Surely we owe this to Tolkien but if it was not for Jackson's vision it could have emerged on-screen in a lesser and inferior form. Such imagination and vision, rich with detail, heart and genuine enthusiasm for the project is rarely found in a big film like this. Imagine what George Lucas would have done for instance. There would have been some annoyingly cute young hobbit characters and Gollum would have been more like Jar Jar Binks than a mysterious, shadow-dwelling enigma. `Mes-a Gollum!'? Shudder at the thought. It shows though that Jackson cares so much about the books, the characters, the story, that he does not sacrifice it for cheap grandiosity or easy commercialism. I actually cared about the characters, what happened to them, the struggles they had to face to achieve their seemingly impossible aim. And the film is not just a fantasy adventure with Jackson pointing here and there saying `look at this, see what I can do??', it works well as a beautifully-conceived, emotionally-rich drama. There are at least two very effecting, very real scenes, both toward the end of the film, in which you truly care and the actors show their craft. In these moments the audience would stop silent. Especially in the first session, there wasn't even a rustle, a crunch of popcorn or a breath to be heard as the struggle was shared by the audience. The performances are exceptional. Elijah Wood is wonderful as Frodo, evoking both youthful enthusiasm and great strength and resilience mixed with a sad loneliness and weakness. He is in one moment both determined and weary. Also worthy of note (and they all are, but being selective) are Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee and Sean Bean as Boromir. Each brings to their role a painful honesty and true heart. Sam is one of the most admirable and delightful characters I have seen in ages. Sean is a long way removed from Encino Man here. And hopefully he will gain credit for this role, as he is truly excellent. Sean Bean is a man tortured by an underlying will to do good, but a strengthening urge to have power, corrupted by the evil of the ring. He is an excellent Boromir, who despite his transgressions is quite endearing at the same time. It's a given too that Ian McKellen is brilliant, and another Gandalf you could not imagine. Wise, bold, mischievous, caring. And Ian Holm as Bilbo is equally as good. Need I mention the superb art direction, costumes and eye-popping special effects. Particularly good is the way the differences in height from Hobbit, dwarf, man and elf are perceived.
And so, this film, so detailed, so beautiful, both subtle and thrilling, with some very tense moments, is instantly a classic and one of my favourite films of all time.
From one (potential) filmmaker to another, I can think of no better compliment to pay than to say, I wish I made this film. This is the type of film I would love to make. I wish I had some part, whatever it may be, no matter how tiny, in bringing this marvel to the screen. It pains me that I don't live in New Zealand and am still at university, because I would throw myself at Peter Jackson and say, `Take me, I will make you coffee!!' This is the effect of this film. So wonderful, so beautiful, so full of power and magic and bringing together a brilliant team of professionals who are all geniuses in their craft. A year and a half, so much waiting, so much anticipation and it was rewarded and here we have the first instalment of this trilogy, and we wait now for the other parts. It's hard to imagine a better adaptation or a better person to have brought this to our cinemas. Hardly surprising what score I gave it.