The Hobbit Whom Tolkien Found So
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the hobbit whom Tolkien found so bewitching that he once re- lization of Mount Ruapehu, the largest active volcano in New ferred to Sam as “this jewel among the hobbits.” Jackson frames Zealand, to represent Mount Doom, where the hobbits finally de- Elijah Wood and Sean Astin in many romantic shots. One of the stroy the evil Ring by casting it into the flames. As Mount Doom most lyrical scenes is when Frodo and Sam are walking through erupts and self-destructs, Sam and Frodo cling to each other, fac- autumnal, glowing wheatfields. Through gold-tinted lighting, ing death. In this end-of-world scenario, Jackson alters Tolkien’s expressive music, and an idealized landscape, Jackson fore- original focus on the love between the two hobbits, writing new shadows the love that develops between the hobbits on their dialogue that has Sam suddenly talking about Rosie Cotton, a journey. hobbit from back home, and how he wishes he could marry her. Another of Jackson’s brilliant casting strokes was the choice The most puzzling treatment of homosexuality in the film of English actor Sean Bean in the pivotal role of Boromir, the occurs after Sam and Frodo are rescued from Mount Doom by man tormented by his lust to possess the Ring. In 1993 Sean giant eagles and brought to safety. In the movie, Frodo wakes Bean became an English sex symbol due to his role as the game- up the next morning in a luxurious bed, where he is soon joined keeper Mellors in Ken Russell’s 1993 adaptation of the D.H. by Merry and Pippin. The three hobbits proceed to embrace and Lawrence novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, in which an instant of cavort joyously in the large bed during an extended, soft-focus, full-frontal nudity escalated his international celebrity. As slow-motion sequence that seems like something out of Elvira Boromir in The Fellowship of The Ring, Bean remains fully Madigan. But even in a scene bursting with homoeroticism, clothed, but he exudes a sexual charisma. In an intriguing addi- Jackson makes a crucial departure from Tolkien. In the book, tion to the original book, Jackson implies subtextually that Frodo and Sam wake up in bed together, while in the film Jack- Boromir is secretly in love with Aragorn and wishes to share the son takes Sam out of the bed and places him standing apart in a throne of Gondor with him. Boromir’s furtive glances at Aragorn nearby doorway, an image designed to separate Sam from the communicate his erotic attraction to the man who starts out as his homoerotic activity of the the hobbits in bed. rival and becomes his inspiration. Jackson re-establishes himself, however, as a director with a The motif of love between men reaches its climax near the gay sensibility through the brilliant ending to the film. The end of the film, when Sam and Frodo risk their lives for each farewell between Sam and Frodo at the Grey Havens, where other. The image of Frodo’s hand clasping Sam’s hand to save Frodo prepares to sail away with the elves into a twilight world, him from drowning is accompanied by the crescendo of Howard is almost unbearably poignant. The outpouring of tears and af- Shore’s stirring music. In the film’s final moments, the screen is fection among the hobbits leads up to the final embrace between flooded with homoerotic intensity. Sean Astin gazes adoringly at Frodo and Sam. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin are superb here, Elijah Wood, and as they head towards the evil land of Mordor, holding back nothing emotionally. When Frodo caresses Sam it seems the hobbits will finally be united as lovers. and places a prolonged kiss on his forehead, the camera angle and the lingering nature of the kiss lead us to believe that Frodo THE RETURN OF THE KING:THE MOVIE wishes to kiss Sam on the lips. In this final scene of the trilogy, The Return of The King, the final film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, Peter Jackson throws caution to the wind and leaves us with un- was released in 2003 and generated an international sensation. forgettable moments that linger in memory. Most critics praised the movie as the apogee of Jackson’s career, and The Return of The King was deluged with eleven Oscars, in- THE FUTURE OF TOLKIEN’S FAIRY STORIES cluding Best Picture and Best Director. And yet, it must be said The mysterious departure of Frodo sailing into the West toward that Jackson’s most highly acclaimed film in the trilogy falls a glowing horizon at the end of Tolkien’s epic is emblematic of short in its handling of homosexual themes and often fails to do what the future may hold for Tolkien readers and scholars: “And justice to Tolkien’s vision. The homoerotic gazes between the the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, hobbits Sam and Frodo are still there, but changes to Tolkien’s until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance original dialogue and scene descriptions diminish the strength on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the of their bond. water.” What lies ahead can only be imagined because so much Following the 2001 release of The Fellowship of The Ring, has yet to be explored. a great deal had been written in newspapers, magazines, and es- Tolkien’s genius as a creator of unconventional love stories pecially on the Internet questioning the gay themes in the film. has for too long gone unrecognized. Viewed as an oddity by Whether Jackson was taken aback by the homophobic criticism most of his dry-as-dust colleagues at Oxford, he was a special is a matter of conjecture. What he produced are several crucial target of criticism when The Lord of the Rings was published in scenes in which Tolkien’s portrayal of love between men is the reactionary 1950s. Tolkien was given an enormous boost by downplayed. In the scene when Sam rescues Frodo, who’s im- the youth movement in the ’60s, though the homosexual themes prisoned in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Jackson alters Frodo’s in his books were still overlooked. Peter Jackson’s film trilogy full nudity as described by Tolkien and shows the hobbit only did justice to these themes, up to a point, and not without arous- shirtless. Granted, full exposure may have been out of the ques- ing controversy and some backpedaling on the director’s part. tion for the film’s target audience, but Frodo’s nudity could have But Tolkien’s unique vision continues to gather strength, and been conveyed in ways that are familiar to Hollywood. Further- the homoerotic culture of the hobbits is reaching increasingly ing the damage, Jackson rushes past the moments when Sam cra- vast numbers of people. There may come a time when the ro- dles Frodo’s body in his arms. Thus the erotic communion that’s mance between Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee in The Lord of present in the novel is entirely lost. The Rings will finally be awarded its rightful place as one of the One of most spectacular settings in the film is Jackson’s uti- greatest love stories in English literature. November–December 2015 17.