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Soldiering On in Epic Pursuit of Purity

December 18, 2002
By ELVIS MITCHELL






The director Peter Jackson's scrupulous devotion to the
spirit of J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy
manifests itself in a gripping, intense fashion for the
second of the film adaptations, "The Two Towers." It may be
the first sequel that does not bother to reprise the major
plot elements of its predecessor immediately; the plan is
to simply drop us right into the action.

Even for those deeply immersed in the material, this
stratagem creates a few moments of apprehension - the same
disconcerted quality that the hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood)
and Sam (Sean Astin) are experiencing on their journey;
this mission began in "The Fellowship of the Ring" when
Frodo was entrusted with the ring that gives its bearer
enormous powers and, incidentally, begins the end of life
in Middle Earth, as was indicated in the first "Ring"
movie, "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Never has a film so strongly been a product of a director's
respect for its source. Mr. Jackson uses all his talents in
the service of that reverence, creating a rare perfect
mating of filmmaker and material. Mr. Jackson's ploy in
this beautifully considered epic is to give viewers the
same feeling of confusion that his characters are
experiencing. By doing this he simultaneously answers those
who complained that too much of the previous "Rings" was
about setup.

A brief recap of a climactic battle between the friendly
wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a fire demon - one of
many climactic battles from "Fellowship" - is shown near
the start. But this scene is used to set "The Two Towers"
in motion. It is a daring gambit to have viewers enter a
movie bearing such complex preceding action with so little
information. Even though the first film took in enough cash
to jump-start the flagging United States economy
single-handedly, Mr. Jackson does not seem to understand
that there are people who haven't absorbed the "Rings"
chronology into the entirety of their beings. And there may
even be folks out there who haven't seen "Fellowship," but
will be lured into theaters for "Towers" by all the
attention that "Fellowship" attracted. Such moviegoers may
feel left out, puzzled and unable to keep up.

With the narrative of "Rings," Tolkien was investigating
determination, loyalty and, finally, faith, finding
innumerable ways to offer up the concept of purity of
heart, as found in Matthew 5:8 and in Kierkegaard, whose
contention was that purity of heart was the ability to will
one thing into being. The pursuit of purity is at the
center of "Towers."

For our hero, Frodo, whose quest is to purge the forces of
menacing evil from Middle Earth, purity is demonstrated by
combating the temptation to wear the ring and be consumed
by its corrupting power. He gets a taste of what the future
might be like when he and Sam meet Gollum, a hobbit who was
once seduced by the ring. He is now an emotional and
physical shambles; emaciated and slunk into a perpetual
crouch, Gollum's translucent, waxy skin is a membrane that
just barely contains his insides.

Gollum is divided within himself; he is an infantilized
wreck who wants to please and befriend the hobbits. But he
is also a hissing, bitter child-man whose paranoia keeps
him breathing, and plotting. Gollum is a computer-generated
creation and as fully realized a character as can be found
in "Towers" - perhaps the most fully realized. (He has been
dropped into the movie more effectively than George Lucas
crammed Jar Jar Binks into his recent "Star Wars" addenda.)
With the voice of Andy Serkis, whose movements were also
copied by the animators, Gollum is torn by his nature, and
Mr. Jackson allows him to be conflicted in a way none of
the other characters in the film are.

This is partially because "Towers" is more or less a bridge
to the finale of the "Rings" trilogy due a year from now,
though this picture is one of the most accomplished holding
actions ever.

So, much of the flow of "Towers" is dictated by the amount
of information that has to be saved for the next
installment. Mr. Jackson compensates for that by inflating
the warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) into an even more
assured, reflexive action hero. He helps a bewitched king
(Bernard Hill) defend his castle against the endless,
possessed armies of the villainous magician Saruman
(Christopher Lee), the foe responsible for the fate of
Gandalf. In his flowing white gowns and beard, Mr. Lee's
warlock is a force to be reckoned with because he alone has
a voice as commanding as Mr. McKellen's.

In sheer action mechanics, Mr. Jackson's achievements in
"Towers" are even more compelling than what he managed the
first time around; he has given the martial scenes of this
sequel a completely different thrust. His engrossing action
style is exciting and dramatic; when the swells of
Saruman's army crash into the walls of the king's castle,
we could be watching Orson Welles's "Chimes at Midnight" as
directed by George A. Romero - Shakespearean-scale
bloodshed and loss as an exploitation movie. The exultant
creepiness of horror films is Mr. Jackson's instinctive
filmmaking style. He exaggerates it here in epic terms, and
the grandeur is astonishing - one scene of Saruman's
creatures flinging themselves at the castle is framed as an
overhead shot, with their shields moving like the wings of
a peculiarly lyric and fatal insect.

Mr. Jackson's mastery of craft in some areas is so powerful
that the flaws are more noticeable than in the first film.
The little-boy allure of the storytelling in "Towers" is
sure to evoke the same reaction that it did in
"Fellowship." "Towers" is like a family-oriented E-rated
video game, with no emotional complications other than
saving the day. Women have so little to do here that they
serve almost as plot-device flight attendants, offering a
trough of Diet Coke to refresh the geek-magnet story. (It
is a lapse in Tolkien's work that Mr. Jackson has not
figured out a way to correct, even with the token
reappearances of Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchett from the
first film.)

Mr. McKellen is a marginal presence this time around, which
is unfortunate because he is needed for ballast; "Rings" is
such a kids' fantasy that a daddy figure is required. He is
the father who soothes his charges under the spell of
Tolkien's bad-dream threats. But he does get one - only one
- whooping chance to do so in "Towers."

The most incredible accomplishment of "Towers" is that at
its heart it is a transition film that lasts nearly three
hours and holds the viewer's attention. Because "The Two
Towers," which opens worldwide today, has to keep so much
story in reserve for the last installment, the movie falls
short on emotional involvement. Still, Mr. Jackson rises so
completely to the challenges here that I can't wait to see
his next movie - by that, I mean the one after the "Ring"
cycle ends.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is rated PG-13
(Parents strongly cautioned) for pounding, long scenes of
sword and flaming-catapult action and unsettling mystic
evil.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

Directed by Peter Jackson; written by Fran Walsh, Philippa
Boyens, Stephen Sinclair and Mr. Jackson, based on the book
by J. R. R. Tolkien; director of photography, Andrew
Lesnie; edited by Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen; music by
Howard Shore; production designer, Grant Major; special
makeup, creatures, armor and miniatures by Richard Taylor;
visual-effects supervisor, Jim Rygiel; produced by Barrie
M. Osborne, Ms. Walsh and Mr. Jackson; released by New Line
Cinema. Running time: 179 minutes. This film is rated
PG-13.

WITH: Elijah Wood (Frodo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Liv
Tyler (Arwen), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Sean Astin (Sam),
Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli/voice
of Treebeard), Bernard Hill (Theoden), Christopher Lee
(Saruman), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic Monaghan (Merry),
Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Miranda
Otto (Eowyn), David Wenham (Faramir), Brad Dourif
(Wormtongue), Andy Serkis (voice of Gollum), Karl Urban
(Eomer) and Craig Parker (Haldir).

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