THE ELVES ARE BACK. I repeat, THE ELVES ARE BACK. Thank God
for that, because the elves weren’t in the first Hobbit... and it was boring as hell. But The Desolation of Smaug (I looooove that word, btw. Smauuuuuuuug. I want to bellow it into a
loudspeaker.) was surprisingly not boring. Scientific proof, people: the elves
make everything better.
Legolas is back! (Orlando Bloom, I love you, but never try to do Shakespeare again; you belong in Middle-earth, not Broadway.) Lee Pace is
the Elf-King—and he’s meaner than Anne Hathaway on a starve-day. Benedict
Cumberbatch is the wickedly dark voice of Smauuuuuug! Luke Evans is a
totally sympathetic (and studly) bargeman! Stephen Fry is a vaguely Louis XIV-esque, goofy tyrant with questionable hygiene and even more questionable morals! (Translation: "Jabba the Hutt meets Louis XIV." See what I mean?) So many exciting things in this Hobbit, people, that I only started to
get restless at hour 1.75 out of 2.75—not bad!
But, I really want to talk about the character "Tauriel."
Now, I haven’t read any of Tolkien’s books. My familiarity with Middle-earth
comes from Peter Jackson’s LOTR series, references from The Simpsons, and a tremendously trippy/traumatizing cartoon adaptation of The Hobbit from the 1970s that absolutely wrecked my childhood.
(Anecdotally, I break out in a cold sweat whenever I think about this movie; I
was so terrified of Gollum, that whenever he was on screen I would run away and
hide in the mud room of our house. I seriously can’t watch Gollum to this day, in any incarnation.
Creepy little bugger. Great, now I won’t be able to sleep tonight… ) But, Tauriel is a brand-spanking new character, conjured up by
the brilliance of PJ and his wife Fran. Though Tolkien purists may get their
LARPing capes and Gandalf beards in a twist over this, I, for one, love the idea of Tauriel.
Creating a new character that is consistent with Tolkien’s fantasy world is no
easy feat. And I love, love, love that PJ and Franny brought a
strong female character into the mix... especially since Tolkien's stories (in)famously lack gender parity. But,
fear not! We now have Tauriel! She is totally badass, well drawn, and complex. Move over, Liv Tyler. There's a new She-Elf in Mirkwood. (#NerdiestThingIHaveSaidAllDay)
 |
| Evangeline Lilly as "Tauriel." Is she channeling Robin Hood with an "I don't follow the rules" ethos?? |
But, it must be said: I'm not okay with the way PJ uses her character in the film. Don't get me wrong: her character is awesome, and Evangeline Lilly plays her with sharpness and sensitivity-- not an easy feat. But while I applaud PJ and Franny’s crafting of her, I
question the story path they’ve sent her down in this film. Without going into too much detail, I will reveal that she is a point in a love triangle. Though one character
pines for her, she—surprise!—develops feelings for another character. The
romantic in me loooooved this storyline, not only because it adds depth to her
chief suitor, but because Tauriel’s love interest (?) is so dang cute and cheeky.
(There is a glittering scene towards the end of the film where her
maybe-beloved makes a little speech about how Tauriel is like a celestial creature,
full of starlight and beauty. Swoon.
I can’t help myself with love-talk like that.) But, the feminist in me is disappointed. Why did the only female character in the entire film have to be part of a
love triangle?? PJ and Franny: don’t you see that this fits into the exhausted,
old-fashioned Hollywood mold where a woman is only useful if she is part of a
love story? How trite! How predictable! Why couldn’t she just be a badass
warrior who had to struggle against the prejudices leveled against her for being a
lower-order Elf? That’s drama enough!
I’m not the only reviewer who has brought up
these concerns about Tauriel—indeed, there seems to be a battle raging about her, with some angry at her and some loving her. Overall, I loved her character—she was feisty, interesting, and brought
some much-needed estrogen to this film. But at the same time, I can’t help wishing that
her sole purpose in the film wasn’t about heart strings and sentiment, but about
the same things that define the male characters: birthright, power,
fellowship. (Side note: allegedly, Evangeline Lilly, who is a LOTR fangirl, didn't like the love triangle subplot, either. She agreed to do the film on the condition that there would be no love triangle. But, obvs, things didn't pan out that way. Bummer.)
Bottom line: despite these plot flaws, Tauriel's character stands out. I'm rooting for her on her journey-- even if it is a love journey. Why? Because, fellowship. And, isn't that what Tolkien's work is all about?
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