Poor Boromir all too often gets typecast as
a villain. Even Tolkien himself didn't seem to like the character too much as,
for all the talk about how noble he is, he is actually portrayed as a major
jerk. He seems to exist for little other purpose than to show what happens when the Ring takes someone over and for the inclusion of a nice piece of poetry. One thing that really struck me whenever I first watched the movies was
the wonderful things they did for Boromir’s character – improving him to the
point that he actually became one of my favorites. So, because this is the
month where I talk about villains and anti-heroes and Boromir kind of fits that
category (and because I just recently saw The Fellowship of the Ring
again), I thought that I would get ready and count down my Top Ten Boromir Moments.
10: Checking the door in Moria.
Many
times when one decides to like or dislike a character it is not based on the
big speech they made or the flashy sword fight they dominated. Oh sure that
might look cool and we might appreciate it – but I find more often that people
like a character for reasons that they can’t quite pinpoint. That’s not because
they’re being irrational or because they just jumped mindlessly onto the
bandwagon. Many times the best bits of a character are not expressed through
the dialogue that they speak. No, what makes the difference between a
performance and a real person lies within the little moments; the gestures, the
expressions, the interactions with other characters. I picked this moment for
the first entry on my list because, to be honest, it just recently struck me as
one of those defining moment. So
Pippin has accidentally knocked a corpse down into a well, alerting the orcs of
Moria to the Fellowship’s presence. Everyone is looking around nervously,
listening to the shrieks and laughter of the goblins, and Boromir immediately
turns around and runs to the door to assess the situation. Let me repeat that:
Boromir (not Legolas, Aragorn, or even Gandalf) runs over to the door of the
chamber and takes a look out to get a better handle on what’s going on. He
doesn’t stop and look around worriedly and he doesn’t rely on hearing alone
(hearing that the echoes would throw off) he goes and he finds out what they’re
up against. It’s just a great scene because it shows how Boromir is always on
top of things. It shows how he is protecting his fellow travelers (whenever he
barricades the door and takes time to mention the cave troll) and how even
though they are all trapped he is looking for a safe way out.
9: The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm.
No,
I’m not talking about whenever Gandalf falls. Well – I sort of am; but I’m
focusing on Boromir in this scene and what he does whenever the Balrog’s whip
curls around Gandalf’s ankle and pulls the old wizard into the abyss. Frodo
turns and races back towards the bridge, intent on getting to his mentor and
friend, and Boromir catches him and holds him back. Not only that but while Aragorn is frozen
in shock it is presumably Boromir who rouses the others and spurs them on
towards the door, calling back to Aragorn while carrying the grief-stricken
Frodo after them. Then while they are outside the door, Boromir shows great
compassion for the Hobbits as he begs Aragorn (misguidedly, but still meaning
well) to give them a few moments to grieve. 8: Talking with Aragorn in Lothlorien.
Up until this point in the movie there had been a lot
of tension between Aragorn and Boromir. Boromir thought that Aragorn was
threatening the tense, fragile political state in Gondor (and possibly his
father’s sanity, not to mention his own claim) and Aragorn was (justly)
suspicious about Boromir’s motives concerning the Ring. Neither of the two
really seem to like each other, though they will work together when it is
absolutely necessary, and this is the scene where it felt like some of that
antagonistic tension finally seeped away. Boromir talks about the glories of his
city. He tells Aragorn about how he worries for his father and their people.
And then he says the most significant thing of all – he tells his rival that
one day their paths will lead them there, describing an entrance into
the city together with honor. This is a HUGE step for the noble, but arrogant
Boromir to make. In saying those simple words he is accepting who Aragorn is
and what that means for him.7: Protecting Sam from the cave troll.
6: Comforting Gimli in Balin’s Tomb.
Yet
another small moment that is so important for Boromir’s character. I actually
didn’t catch it the first couple of times I watched this movie but whenever
Gimli is kneeling in front of Balin’s sepulcher, Boromir steps forward and
places a hand on the dwarf’s shaking shoulder in silent support. It is one of
those little things that make Boromir’s character in the movies superior to
what he is in the books. It shows how much he cares for both people in general
and for his companions.
5: Teaching Merry & Pippin to fight.
One
of my favorite parts of Boromir’s character (and, indeed, the first movie in
general) is the relationship between Boromir and the two hobbits, Merry and
Pippin. Fans have speculated that part of the reason he connected so well with
those two characters was because he was missing his little brother and
certainly Boromir does become a bit of a big brother/protective cousin to the
two youngest hobbits throughout the journey. The first place we see this come
through is the scene when the Fellowship stops for a rest in Hollin and Boromir
takes it upon himself to teach the hobbits how to actually use those swords of
theirs.
We seem him systematically teaching them
stances as well as basic strikes and blocks, gradually speeding the pace up and
increasing their skill little by little just as you can imagine he once did for Faramir. What makes this scene so great,
though, is the fact that he accidentally nicks Pippin’s hand – making the Took
drop his sword and cry out in pain. Concerned, Boromir rushes forward with an
apology but Pippin is having none of it and kicks the tall man in the shin.
Merry runs over to help and the two of them wrestle Boromir, Captain of Gondor
down to the ground. The three of them are giggling the entire time and it is
the cutest thing you can imagine! 
4: Defending Faramir from their father.
The Gondorian forces
have recaptured the city of Osgiliath and Boromir finishes giving his victory
speech. Immediately he goes and seeks out his little brother and the two of
them share a joke and a drink. The chemistry between Sean Bean and David Wenham
is top-notch and you can really see the relationship that the two brothers share,
just in the three minutes and half a dozen lines they share. It is incredible!
But while that is
great to watch, the character moment I am going to highlight comes mere moments
later whenever their father, Denethor, comes down from his ivory tower to
congratulate his beloved firstborn. It is quite obvious that he sees Faramir as
less than Boromir. Why? We don’t know. Fans have theorized that maybe the
reason their mother (Denethor’s wife) died was through giving birth to Faramir,
but Tolkien never really elaborated on the subject so we don’t know. What we do
know is that poor Faramir can never do anything right in the eyes of his father
and that Boromir doesn’t agree with that attitude. He staunchly defends his
brother from Denethor’s scorn and even goes so far as to try and build Fararmir
up in the steward’s eyes. That is a great thing for Boromir to do! Often
whenever we see this sort of family dynamic in movies the favored kid is
portrayed as a bit of a bullying brat who smugly takes advantage of being the
favorite. Even if the ‘kids’ are adults this trend tends to triumph over any
new ideas. Rarely (almost never) do we see the favored child be actually a
good soul who likes the disfavored and never do they actually come to the ‘bad’
child’s defense! The fact that Boromir is willing to not only build up Faramir
and be supportive of him but also risk his own status by openly defending him
to their father speaks a lot for Boromir’s character and nobility.
3: Comforting Frodo in Lothlorien.
In
the theatrical cut Boromir is kind of a jerk where Frodo is concerned and, for
the purposes of storytelling, I can certainly understand why they played up the
seduction of the Ring (the same reason they played up Aragorn’s suspicions). But
that doesn’t mean I don’t think it is infinitely better whenever he doesn’t
start off as being negative toward our main hobbit. Seriously, it only helps
to heighten the impact of what the Ring does whenever Boromir attacks Frodo
when only scenes before he has been protecting him (Moria) and then doing
what no one else thought to do and comfort the hobbit after Gandalf died. One
main difference between the movies and the books is that while in Tolkien’s
narrative Gandalf decides to go through Moria despite all of Aragorn’s
protests, Jackson for some inexplicable reason has the wizard ‘Let the
Ringbearer decide’, making Frodo indirectly responsible for his death. I’m
still not entirely certain why that change was made because it doesn’t make
much sense from either an adaptation or story-telling angle, but what I love
about it that it gives us this scene. Aragorn is arguing with
Haldir who (understandably) doesn’t want to let the Fellowship into the heart
of Lorien while they carry the Ring. The rest of the company, exhausted and
grief-stricken, can’t help shooting a few accusing looks in Frodo’s direction.
Poor Frodo, already feeling guilty about Gandalf’s death, takes this quite hard
and is silently brooding off by himself – sitting away from the warm circle of
his companions. But then Boromir goes over and sits down beside the hobbit and
proceeds to gently reassure him and try to lend some comfort. He says nothing
that is trite. But just the fact that he is talking to Frodo shows his support.
I know that this scene always gives me a warm feeling inside.
2: Saving Merry & Pippin
1: Last speech to Aragorn.
There is just so much going on in this scene! Boromir has just
fought off an entire legion of orcs to save Merry and Pippin. He was shot in
the lungs and kidney with three arrows and faced down the main archer orc,
prepared to take the killing shot with dignity. But before the shaft can drive
home, Aragorn shows up and takes out Lurtz (as the head Uruk is named in the
credits), leaving Boromir to somehow crawl over to the base of a tree in agony.
After Lurtz is taken care of, Aragorn rushes over to the dying Boromir who
cries out that, for all his efforts, Merry and Pippin were still captured by
the Uruk-hai.
I put this moment
on my list above his heroic rescue of Merry and Pippin, where he regained his
honor, simply because I think that this was the moment where he truly redeemed
himself. It is one thing to go out and do penance for something bad you’ve done
– harder by far is to actually take a deep breath and verbally admit your
wrongdoing to another person. This is the moment where Boromir fully makes up
for attacking Frodo because he owns up to what he did wrong and begs Aragorn to
make the resulting problems right.
The culmination of
his character arc also comes into play here whenever he says the immortal line
to Aragorn: “I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my king.”
He has gone from envisioning them on an equal footing (Lothlorien) to bowing to
Aragorn’s greater claim and saying that he will willingly submit to the other
man’s rule. This is a huge moment and always makes his death all the harder for
me because it feels like he finally connected with Aragorn. I should have liked
to see them enter Gondor together, had he survived. I know Sean Bean dies in
practically everything he is in – but this death in particular just tears me
apart every time. I fully believe
that this is the best Boromir moment because he humbles himself, he admits what
he did wrong, and redeems himself so that he can die in honour. His last speech
with Aragorn is truly Boromir’s finest hour.
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