The end of hysteria
Jessica Zafra
Twisted

[...]
• • • • • •
Friday the hordes of the faithful troop to the cinema to watch the final chapter of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings . I think we can stop calling it Jackson’s Tolkien adaptation -- he has taken what is probably the most jealously guarded material on earth and made it his own.
Some of us have been suffering withdrawal symptoms since the advance screenings; we cannot rest until we have seen The Return of the King many times. In my case I need to make sure I saw what I thought I saw; I spent so much of the movie bursting into tears, I may have imagined it all. Some will be watching ROTK for the first time, and I envy them because they are about to be stunned in the best possible way.
Of course the purest experience was the premiere of the first movie, Fellowship of the Ring . We had no idea what we were in for. Most of the viewers were there because they loved the books and were prepared to annihilate Peter Jackson if he showed any disrespect. When that hand fished the One Ring out of the water, everyone whispered, “My precioussss.” When Orlando Bloom as Legolas had his first closeup, there was a collective gasp and a chorus of “ Sino ’yan ?!” You got a real sense of community; you were part of something huge.
What really made Fellowship of the Ring for me, and ensured my continued devotion, was the last stand of Boromir (Sean Bean). Boromir is a valiant warrior corrupted by the Ring; it gets to him by playing on his good intentions. In the climactic sequence, Boromir has just tried to take the Ring from Frodo. Suddenly the fellowship is attacked by Uruk-hai. Boromir comes running to defend the hobbits, and he fights ferociously until struck by an arrow. The music stops, we see the shock on the hobbits’ faces, and the look on Boromir’s -- he knows he has failed, and he is going to die. He sinks to his knees, then he gets up and fights. He fights until he has no breath left. In battle the fallen warrior regains his honor. This scene is not described by Tolkien -- in the book, Aragorn simply comes upon Boromir leaning against a tree, pierced by many arrows -- but it is certainly what Tolkien meant, and it is beautifully rendered by Jackson and his team. That’s where I went from fan to believer.
ROTK clocks in at three-and-a-half hours, but its emotional length is way more than that. Factor in the anticipation, the waiting in line, the time coming down from your movie rush, and the years since you first read the books, and you’ve invested a large chunk of your life. Let me tell you: it’s worth it. I wish you a prime seat in a theater with an intelligent audience.