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Faramir and Denethor - and the Ring of Power
Tarma Black (Hufflepuff)

Yes, I've watched The Lord of the Ring movies a few times now, and I've also watched the extended version commentaries. I have agreed and disagreed with some of the departures from the books that the movie(s) have made, but usually I could see the rationale behind these changes. For example, the movie version of Helm's Deep is NOT as it is in the book. (But, well, we won't go into that.)

This commentary is not about Helm's Deep, but about the changes in the storyline the movie writers made in the Faramir/Denethor story.

In the book, Faramir is able to resist the temptation of the Ring that Frodo bears. He does not do this lightly, but he does it. In the movie, the writers made him decide to take the Ring (and the Ring bearer) back to his father, Denethor. Faramir could not resist the Ring, but he didn't claim it for himself; he was taking it back to his father in hopes of getting into Denethor's favour again. The reason the writers of the screenplay changed the storyline goes something like this:
'How could a Ring that possesses everyone, totally bypass this 'younger son' of a very powerful man? How could we show this ring as being totally evil and totally powerful if this young man is able to resist it? There goes our whole story line!'

Well, I feel that they lost a grand opportunity to show that, as powerful as the Ring may be, a person can be possessed by other things too. In the book, Faramir was so possessed by his father's will that when the Ring tried to possess 'him', there was hardly anything already not claimed. That little bit not claimed by Denetor was the true essence of Faramir. And that true essence of Faramir was that which was able to resist, and deny, the call of the Ring.

If Denethor had not been such a toxic and malignant person, and so utterly intent upon destroying his younger son, Faramir would, most likely, have been possessed by the Ring and taken it from the Ring bearer. He would not have claimed it for Denethor though, but for himself ... and the story would have been completely different from then on.