Stories & Soliloquies

Stories & Soliloquies
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    • Reimagining Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Films (full of spoilers)

      Posted at 11:45 am by Michelle Joelle, on May 21, 2014

      When I don’t like how a story ends, I rewrite it in my head. Sometimes I rewrite minor points in the middle. Always, my goal is to preserve the story as authentically as possible, but tweak it until it makes sense to me. In my head, Harry Potter becomes a professional quidditch player, finally getting to live out the childhood he was denied, rather than becoming an auror, Izzy Stevens of Grey’s Anatomy dies of cancer instead of leaving Alex inexplicably, and Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit plays out very, very differently.

      Note 1: This review contains a lot of spoilers from the book, and it also assumes that you’ve seen the first two films.

      Note 2: I love Peter Jackson, and his vision for The Lord of the Rings was nothing short of masterful. I’ve seen them countless times, and I’ve memorized every inch of the behind the scenes commentary and footage. I think he’s brilliant, and those movies were truly works of art. 

      Note 3: This is not just the rant of a book purist. While I think Tolkien’s original text for LotR is perfect, I like a lot of the changes Jackson et al made for the film and I’m well convinced that there are some things that work in print that will not work on film. In this vein, I’ll be evaluating the movies qua movies, and not just grumbling at deviations from the book without good reason.

      But all that being said, so far, The Hobbit movies are just not working for me. I get what Peter Jackson’s trying to do and I respect it – he wants to retell The Hobbit as a prequel to the Lord of the Rings and build a consistent world, and not just the narrative of Bilbo’s experience. To do this, he takes up the dwarves story and adds in what Gandalf was doing with the Necromancer. I like this too, actually – these are stories with similar arcs (journeys of discovery and recovery) that could blend well to create a rich, deep world to match the grand scale of the trilogy without undermining the central point of Tolkien’s vision of The Hobbit. 

      But then he goes overboard, creating characters and plot lines that don’t serve that central narrative. He leaves the different story lines separate and unconnected, and the result is that the viewer is popped around, taken through various emotions without build up or transition, and denied a clear path through all the added complexity. The LotR films started with a single sprout and grew into a tree with many branches, and had the depth of unseen roots. The Hobbit films were a group of fallen branches and bits of bark thrown at you in a confused bundle.

      In frustration (because I so want these movies to be great), I’ve attempted to reconstruct them in my head around the original goal of growing a single narrative into a tripartite one. In a twist, I’ve used lessons I’ve learned about adapting stories from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film commentary and DVD special features to do it.

      The first thing I would change is to make it two movies, rather than three. Even with two additional story lines, the thing that matters is the central arc around which all three narratives cohere. In my fantasy re-edit, I can opt out of of the obvious money grab.

      —

      Part 1: Discovery (or rather, “There”)

      I’d start in the obvious place – with Bilbo, in a hole in the ground, just like in the book.

      What makes the LotR films such an effective adaptation of an incredibly complex story is how they start with a single through line and blossom out into multiple strains. Where the Hobbit films fail is that they start with the complexity, so there’s no way to get drawn into the story. It’s not that I need an element of surprise (I mean, I know how it ends), but a huge part of what makes Tolkien such a great storyteller is how he lets you experience the adventure. The film should be like a ride-along adventure, not a visual report of the events.

      And so, with Bilbo as our vehicle, things would start with a whimsical air. Bilbo would meet Gandalf, who would seem mysterious and strange through his eyes, and then the dwarves who would seem ridiculous and uncouth. As the evening would progress, we’d learn more about the dwarves through the jokes they tell, and then the mood would change as they told their stories, and then finally I’d let the dimming of the candles darken the tone until we reached that most incredible version of the dwarves song in Bilbo’s home. That song was perfect, and I’d leave it just as it was, letting it stew in Bilbo’s mind as he tries to sleep, provoking his curiosity and his sense of adventure.

      Then the adventure would begin, and with the light of day, we could return to a mood that’s lighter, though still a little unsettled.

      Through Bilbo’s eyes, the sense of “epic”ness would gradually escalate alongside Bilbo’s sense of adventure and fear. He tests the waters, tries things out, fails, and longs for comfort and home, in each scene stretching his courage a little bit further as he learns his own potential and his own limitations, following his progress from his first attempts at being an adventurer with the trolls all the way through his triumph in the game of riddles.

      That’s about where I’d hit the three-quarters mark of the first film, because that’s the turning point for Bilbo, the event that really makes him see things differently – not just himself, but the world around him. It’s also a great point to let things turn a bit darker, hinting at the cohesion around their misadventures. The ring introduces a silent darkness that none of the characters – not even Gandalf – can yet explain.

      It’s great point to start escalating the dwarves stories and conversations about their quest for Erebor, showing them to be something more than a band of silly dwarves, and for Gandalf to start more visibly contemplating his split from the party. Now would be a good time for some hints of Gandalf’s role in masterminding this quest, and for Thorin to start to show himself as heroic. The action can increase in tension and grow in scope as the story literally zooms out on the wings of eagles and darkens at the door of Beorn. As get more depth in the story, we can start to feel more of Bilbo’s fear also, stretching his emotional range along with his knowledge and his confidence.

      A fitting ending to the first movie would be Gandalf splitting off from the quest, sending Bilbo and the dwarves into Mirkwood on their own.

      Part 2: Resolution (or “And Back Again”)

      Now is when you should hit heavy with the dwarves’ back story. After hinting all through the first movie of the grander, darker quest for Erebor, the audience is now ready for the opening sequence Peter Jackson put at the beginning of the first movie. At this point, it would feel like a reveal, rather than a heavy handed attempt to focus the drama around the dwarves quest for home.

      When we meet back up with our company, we’d just be starting the trek through Mirkwood. In this set up, I’m very obviously mimicking the introductory sequences of Jackson’s The Two Towers, cutting from high levels of action to the dark stillness of the forest. We’d get an introduction of their situation, and as soon as they start running into things they fear, we switch to Gandalf, and introduce his new storyline – one that, again, we’ve been hinting at all through the first movie. From there, the two story lines can build up together, growing the fear and the conflicts until they culminate with Bilbo’s biggest moment of courage and transition: defeating the spiders and giving his sword its name. It could be a great action sequence, especially if combined with Gandalf’s business with the necromancer. This is the halfway point, because we now have three solid storylines: Gandalf’s new trajectory to uncover the coming of the orcs and the wargs, the Dwarves new sense of urgency, and Bilbo’s new role as hero.

      After that, the time spent in the halls of the elves could be put to good use cutting back and forth between developing Gandalf’s fears of the coming war, showing the animosity between the elves (even developing some of the elves in the name of making a role for Legolas and Evangeline Lilly without introducing weird new plot lines that come across like bad fan fiction) and the dwarves, the relationship between the elves and Laketown. Bilbo’s role would be to move the action along, now that he’s a clever solution-finder.

      Note 4: The barrel scene would be so much scarier if they did it the way Tolkien described. Reading that scene fills me with terror – it’s sneaky, risky, and the dwarves could drown. You can feel the claustrophobia as Bilbo shuts the barrels. It doesn’t need to look like a video game in order to be thrilling. The way the film plays it out is so nonsensical – Peter Jackson seems to be looking for real grit and darkness at every turn, and then when he’s got a scene that’s already got some, he turns it into a silly romp that looks like a setup for video games and amusement park rides.

      Then it’s time to return to the source-material for an action packed, tightly woven chain of events that heighten the complexity while also starting to weave the various threads together. I like the idea of developing Laketown and Bard’s family (another chance to add female characters without completely making things up) and building up to what should really be the big beginning of the climax – the slaying of the dragon, about three-quarters of the way through the film. This makes a great false climax because it feels like it should be the end – things seem like they could resolve here, but for the rumble of the underlying darkness that’s been building as we follow Gandalf, who is now on his way back.

      This rumble provides a strong foundation for viewers to experience the dwarves digging in their heels and inciting a volatile situation in the main theatre of action. There’s so much built in darkness here, with the dwarves army on its way, the orcs on their way, the betrayal of the dwarves by Bilbo, the anger of the elves, and the complete loss of reason by Thorin.

      The true climax moment of the film should be when the dwarves show up to declare war on the elves and the men of Laketown. The scariest moment of the book, for me, is the moment that the army of dwarves rushes forward, ready to kill the elves and men. They were going to do it. They didn’t change their minds on their own. They were bent on bloodshed. I can’t for the life of me think why Peter Jackson thinks he needed to work so hard to add darkness with made up plot-lines when in this moment, the supposed protagonists of our story become the antagonists. The good guys are literally about to kill each other when Gandalf shows up to pull all of the threads of the story together and warn of the coming orcs and wargs.

      This moment is HUGE, and should be well earned. Everything should be leading to this point, especially if we’re trying to build a strong prequel to the LotR, develop the theme of returning home, and pull the threads of a complex story back together. When everyone comes together on the same side against the orcs, that’s a triumphant moment – let the music swell and the battle be epic. Earning this moment emotionally would give the eagles and Beorn their due, allow Thorin to redeem himself before the end, and make it possible for the Battle of the Five Armies to have the impact Jackson clearly wants it to have.

      —

      That’s how this film adaption should have played out, in my mind. Visually, these movies are striking and richly detailed. In execution, they feel lost. It’s not that I think Peter Jackson is wrong to change the story into something more fitting his version of LotR – I’m actually a huge fan of rethinking stories in different contexts, as I believe that stories should be treating as living things (like myths – Fionn mac Cumhaill of the Irish Finn cycle has several death stories), not concretized into indisputable canon – but the problem is that he doesn’t accomplish his own goals. The movies need a lot more restraint and a much tighter structure.

      At least, that’s how I’d like to see them.

      Posted in Stories | 7 Comments | Tagged adaptation, editing, film, lord of the rings, lotr, movies, narrative, peter jackson, spoilers, storytelling, the hobbit, tolkien
    • Christmas at the Movies

      Posted at 10:00 am by Michelle Joelle, on December 20, 2013

      Christmas is a holiday that lends itself to storytelling. There’s the actual Christmas story about the birth of Christ, but Christmas is a big idea, so there are a lot of different ways to tell stories about it. There are so many versions of the Santa Claus story, families get together and tell stories, there are so many beautiful picture books and poems, TV shows have Christmas specials, and of course, every year we get new Christmas movies.

      While I’m perfectly happy to be kind of cliche and sentimental at all times, I practically luxuriate in it during the Christmas season. My favorite Christmas movies are no exception. Here are the five that are on my MUST watch once December hits.

      1. Holiday Inn (1942) – I fell in love with this movie from watching it on TCM, where they cut out the unfortunate scene on Lincoln’s Birthday, so discovering that scene was a bit sad. I’ve tried, but I can’t eradicate the movie from my system. The music, the dancing, and the premise all speak to me. I’d love a quiet life in the country over hectic and harried ambition, combining work with holiday celebration and creativity. What can I say? Irving Berlin has a grip on me.

      2. Santa Claus, the Movie (1986) – This is a true classic for me, even though no one I know seems to know what I’m talking about when I mention it. It’s a hokey 80s movie with obvious product placement, but it also has the best Santa Claus origin story. The movie is worth watching for the first act alone – it’s really beautiful if you stop before the wacky 80s story gets started. I find the rest of it fun, though too.

      3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) – I bet I don’t really need to explain this one. It’s a true classic. Every year, Christmas begins with the soundtrack to this movie immediately following the Thanksgiving meal. Yeah, Santa’s mean and there’s no real explanation for why some of the toys are misfits, but I’m a sucker for stop-animation and Burl Ives.

      4. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) – A gorgeous country home, an implausible story, incredible 40s fashion, a horse drawn carriage in the snow, and S Z Sakall? Sign me up. Barbara Stanwyk plays a proto-Martha Stewart who lives in the city but writes articles about a rustic country home life and cooking, about which she knows nothing. It’s a great ruse, until her boss decides to visit her for some home cooking at Christmastime. Holiday hijinks ensue.

      5. The Hess truck commercials from the 80s – Ok, these aren’t movies, but these are instant nostalgia generators. Everything we watched at Christmastime when I was little was taped from television, so we spent a lot of time fast-fowarding through commercials. We’d always stop to watch the Hess truck commercials. I loved playing with my Hess truck.

      There are a lot more too. Here’s my list of honorable mention:

      • How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966).
      • It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
      • Love Actually (2003)
      • Bridget Jones Diary (2001)
      • Frosty the Snowman (1969)
      • Little Drummer Boy (1968)
      • The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

      Happy Christmas.

      Posted in The Waste Book | 0 Comments | Tagged christmas, film, stories
    • Happy Halloween!

      Posted at 3:33 pm by Michelle Joelle, on October 29, 2013

      Pumpkins 005

      Pumpkins by us, circa 2012

      To celebrate Halloween, and to reward myself for a week of working on some very dense material for my day job, I’ve decided to leave books and writing aside for a moment and look at my favorite Halloween movies (and there’s one written piece thrown in for good measure).

      This is sort of an odd list for me to generate. For the most part, I don’t enjoy the horror genre. I tend to find it upsetting. I over-empathize with the characters. Instead of feeling titillated, I wind up reflecting on true stories of random horrible acts of violence, and well, it’s terribly unpleasant. There are exceptions though, especially when there’s a layer of self-commentary (Cabin in the Woods) or there’s political commentary (name your favorite zombie movie, and I’m sure it’s got some).

      I also don’t like to think of death as something scary, or of ghosts as evil. I think of the people I love who will one day die, and of people I have loved who have already passed away, and I just don’t find any joy in imagining them in any kind of torment, or as any agent of torment (as in stories of hauntings). I love cemeteries, because I love to think about the stories that all of the people there have left behind. I’ve been told that this is strange, but I find them peaceful.

      But this is what Halloween is meant to be about – remembering the dead, even honoring death itself. Our tradition has roots in Samhain, a festival in celebration of the end of the year, the death of the summer and the beginning of winter. Autumn is a time when death is beautiful – the leaves are the most brilliant just before they wither and fall. Samhain is a time when the barrier between the living and the dead is permeable, and the dead are giving a place at the feast. It also has roots in the Christian All Saints’ Day, wherein the living form spiritual bonds with dead who suffer purgatory, and the dead who are in heaven.

      Ghoulish, perhaps, but villainous and terrible?  Not unless the dead in question was villainous and terrible in life, please.

      So my list won’t include the scariest or most original selection of movies out there (Reader’s Digest can help you out there), but there are many, many stories that don’t push my general squeamishness too far while still capturing the spirit of Halloween. These are my five favorites:

      1) Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Not only is this a brilliant example of storytelling, but it has everything you could want in a holiday movie – including another holiday. Christmas is my favorite (ultimate hygge time), and this movie gives me a chance to secretly start cultivating my yuletide cheer a bit early, thus tempering my insatiable Christmas desire long enough to let me enjoy the Fall holidays first.

      2) Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. This is a masterpiece. Don’t expect a serious horror film, or else you’ll never make heads or tails of it. It’s take on the gruesome is comic, fun, and kind of beautiful. And you know – Johnny Depp with gadgets, Christina Ricci in a hoop skirt, and delightful autumnal scenery.

      3) The Shadow of the Vampire. Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich amaze me in this, and it’s incredibly scary.  Like, legitimately it frightens me, and I enjoy it, because it always makes me reflect on the vampiric power of film. It really sucks me in, you know? Pair it with Nosferatu for an excellent evening in.

      4) Donnie Darko. This is sad, triumphant and thought-provoking all at once, and it always sends me to my homemade VHS of Harvey, which I taped off of Turner Classic Movies on a VCR.  Because I am from the past, and I really, really want to read that time-travel book.

      5) Teig O’Kane and the Corpse, as found in W.B. Yeats’ Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, translated by Douglas Hyde.  This is the one that isn’t a movie, though I would love to see it adapted into a short film. It’s deliciously ghoulish, spooky, traffics in both fairies and ghosts, and says something about both death and life. It’s a wonderful campfire read for any season, but I especially like it when its chilly out.  It’s a perfect Samhain tale.  You can find this tale here, but I recommend getting the book so you can take it with you to travel.

      I make no apologies for my puns. It’s a holiday, after all.

      Related articles
      • Merry Samhain & Happy Halloween (springwolf.net)
      • Top spooky ancient Irish myths surrounding Halloween (irishcentral.com)
      Posted in The Waste Book | 3 Comments | Tagged film, Halloween, Ireland, Samhain, Tim Burton
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