Humour by Rehana Munir: One trilogy to rule them all

Twenty years after part one of Peter Jackson’s ambitious adaptation of The Lord of the Rings released, I’ve finally gotten around to watching the trilogy

Twenty years after part one of Peter Jackson’s ambitious adaptation of The Lord of the Rings released, I’ve finally gotten around to watching the trilogy. In all likelihood, I’m employing stalling tactics to avoid watching Amazon’s The Rings of Power, currently trending among the trendy. Or maybe I’ve only just gotten over the boys in college gushing over the Epicness of Elvishness. So be it. Show me a bandwagon and I’ll stay as far away from it as boredom does from Middle-earth. But enough with the generalities. I still have an hour to go in the series, but someone give the smouldering Aragorn a throne, a shower and a visa to India already.

With magic, elves and hobbits in an entirely different universe, even 20 years later, The Lord of the Rings is just as good (Hexcode)

Fool of a Took!

Having read The Hobbit decades ago, I’d decided that Tolkien’s world wasn’t for me. Just too much plot driven by hairy creatures, and way too many descriptions of glens and ravines to interest the postmodernist in me, constantly seeking existential angst cloaked in abstraction and irreverence. Ah, the folly of youth. To watch the films now is an unexpected reward for years of abstinence—and even ignorance. One of the chief delights of the activity is to discover the source material for so much of Harry Potter’s wizarding world. I’ve been pointing and yelling at the screen in the manner of a hobbit, perhaps an overenthusiastic Peregrin Took, every time an obvious parallel comes up. Wearing the Horcrux does bad things to Harry, just like the ring sits heavily on Frodo’s chest. Tolkien’s swords have transmuted to Rowling’s wands. And look at how the house-elves mimic Gollum!

I’d expected Gollum to be a grandfatherly version of the Potterverse’s Dobby and Winky. Instead, there’s this positively Shakespearean character, caught in an excruciating internal struggle between the forces of light and dark.

Sméagol was an entirely new character for me, even though Gollum is a pop culture staple. I likes it, my precioussss.

Feminism arrives in Middle-earth

Aragorn, played with the right combination of restraint and élan by Viggo Mortenson, proves that it’s still possible for an old-fashioned on-screen warrior to charm. Starting off his journey in the film as Strider, little more than a notorious bandit, he is revealed to be the heir of Isildur as the adventure progresses—one who leaves two snowy-cheeked princesses with flowing locks and dewy eyes hankering after him. Teaming up with the Dwarf Gimli and the Elf Legolas, the human with steely courage (and a sharp jawline) reminds you that people aren’t so bad after all.

The ethereal Cate Blanchett makes a few appearance as the royal Elf Galadriel, speaking in a manner that simultaneously puts you to sleep and wakes you up—a superpower if I’ve ever heard one. The ladies, all in all, don’t have much to do around these parts other than providing love and light to the men fighting the good fight. In times of danger, they cower in caves with the children. One of them, though, has just bucked the trend, mounting a horse and galloping into battle, unbeknownst to her father, the king. Brava!

Roshan in Rohan

Gandalf the Grey, later, the White, played magisterially by Ian McKellen, is everything I expected him to be: wise, enigmatic and never shy of a dramatic entry. Together with Shadowfax, his noble steed, and his staff, he is an Old Testament prophet plus a mighty warrior, with the added gift of sarcasm. Watching him in the movies makes me want to go back to his wacko appearances on The Graham Norton Show, as unwizardly as one can imagine. Saruman, IMHO, disappoints with his one-note performance as a stooge of Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor (which sounds like “mother” to my wickedly Freudian ear).

The bromance between Frodo and the portly Sam, mates from The Shire, is one of the biggest takeaways from the trilogy. I’m now tempted to read the books; the language takes your breath away, even in a cinematic adaptation which is so emphatically visual. One big sore point: the musical score keeps reminding me of Lakshya, whose theme song is clearly “inspired” by Howard Shore’s compositions. As a result, and rather incongruously, Hrithik Roshan is part of my Middle-earth. Perhaps I shouldn’t have waited this long.

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From HT Brunch, October 29, 2022

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