NFB Re-Watches The Lord Of The Rings: Arwen In “Flight To The Ford”

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If you want him, come and claim him.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring – “Flight To The Ford”

Wherein Glorfindel gets 86’d; Asfaloth wins the Bruinen Derby; and the Witch-King has a bad time with H2O.

OK, Tolkien purists, allow me to say what you might not like to hear: Glorfindel is not an important character. Not only was removing him from the film adaptation a decision that didn’t bother me or most of anyone else as far as I can tell, it was undoubtedly the right decision. Glorfindel is one of the more curious inventions of Tolkien, but that is only owing to his backstory that doesn’t even make it into The Lord Of The Rings. In terms of the narrative of the book, he’s a largely pointless inclusion, someone who comes and goes in a few pages and adds nothing after that point. Hence the decision to replace him in the film version with a much more important character, one for whom the adaptation is going to be making a number of concessions. And rightfully so too: if Tolkien’s most famous work has one major undeniable flaw, it’s the fact that women feature so little, with Arwen especially downgraded in terms of page numbers where she appears. The film trilogy was not going to make that mistake (well, not that there have been many women so far), starting with Arwen subbing in for Glorfindel in “Flight To The Ford”. In this entry, we’re going to look closer at Arwen in this scene, and examine how Jackson choose to introduce her ahead of more to follow.

I gotta say, I love the dual manner in which Arwen is introduced in this picture. We hear her before we see her, as she catches Aragorn out looking for athelas, placing a sword under his chin and coyly saying “What this? A Ranger caught off his guard?” There is a wide impression made with this moment, one that marks Arwen out as a fair bit differently to the character that we are used to from the book. That Arwen was demure, distant, elevated, but this Arwen is not that. With this introduction, she comes across as playful, coy, even fun-loving and, whisper it, just a little sexy. Leaving aside the fact that she is out wandering the wilds alone, she’s seen the opportunity to sneak up on the man she loves and get one over on him in a good-natured way. This tells us an awful lot about movie-Arwen before we even see her, and I don’t think that it is an exaggeration to say that there is as much or more characterisation in this instance than there is for Arwen in all of the book.

Then the scene changes tack, and for a brief moment we get something more akin to that demure, distant and elevated Arwen, when we first catch sight of her. When she approaches an ailing Frodo, he seems to see her first as a very angelic being, emerging from pure white light, wearing a very unsuitable dress for the surroundings, and looking every bit the elven princess that she pretty much is. Thinking back to “The Midgewater Marshes”, she looks like our idea of Luthien. That she then merges back into the scout for Rivendell, wearing different clothes for one thing, gives the impression that Frodo has had something of an hallucination in his distress: in film terms, this is a method whereby Jackson has his cake and eats it too, giving himself and his team the leeway to introduce their version of Arwen while also making a very clear nod to the book version.

The following moments allow for a proper beginning to The Lord Of The Rings‘ depiction of the Aragorn/Arwen relationship, which is critical for both characters, but especially for Arwen, as it will be, for good or ill, singularly defying for her. The two exhibit an ease and familiarity with each other, speaking naturally in Arwen’s language about the situation with Frodo, and despite the nature of their relationship as we will come to understand it, are focused on the task at hand, almost business-like. At least until the end. Aragorn gallantly suggests that he take Arwen’s horse and take the risk of racing the Nazgul to Rivendell, doing so in a manner that I would deem not inherently misogynist: he isn’t dismissive of Arwen here, it seems to me more a matter of duty for a man who has taken Frodo this far and wants to finish the journey. That tracks for me because Aragorn does not really resist the idea of Arwen taking the risk either, respectful of her skill as a rider and the agency she exhibits in making that choice. And the spark is there too, in the look of concern in Aragorn’s eyes as he warns Arwen of the danger she will be in, and when he sends her off. Arwen’s own sense of defiance, independence and bravery is in every bit of her statement that does not fear the Ringwraiths.

The resulting chase is arguably the most exhilarating scene of the film thus far. There’s little you can say about characterisation for Arwen in the course of it, because it’s just a mad dash through woods and fields to get away from the Ringwraiths, but I have to admit that I feel the scene does get something added by virtue of the it being Arwen, and not the empty-shell that would have been Glorfindel. This is a vital character in a great deal of peril, and it doesn’t hurt that it is a woman in a story that has been almost exclusively male up to this point. There’s a greater contrast in that I suppose, Arwen standing out more from the nine Nazgul behind her on their towering black horses by virtue of just who she is. She’s deadset only on making it to the river, with not even a brief entanglement with a tree liable to stop her.

At the actual ford of the Bruinen, Arwen stops running. This is another change from the book, where it is Frodo alone who faces down the Nazgul, but here he is portrayed as essentially catatonic. It’s left to Arwen to essentially tell the Witch-King to come and have a go if he thinks he’s hard enough, an invitation that the Nazgul seem more than happy to act on. But just turning her horse, brandishing her sword and making that statement – in the face of a very sexist sounding description of her as “she-elf” by the Witch-King – is enough to showcase a lot of bravery, determination and a willingness to sacrifice herself for the greater good. And of course it also portrays a good bit of intelligence and cunning at the same time, as Arwen essentially goads the Nazgul into stepping into the river, the river that she has the power to turn into an immensely powerful ally. Out of this encounter we have formed a complete and very positive impression of Arwen, and we aren’t even done yet.

Arwen’s last act of the chapter is far more ethereal in nature, and allows us another glimpse into the power and quasi-divinity that comes with being a high-born elf in Middle-Earth. Frodo appears to be on his figurative last legs, and Arwen then performs something we might describe as a sacrificial ritual in order to sustain him, at least long enough for her father, presumably of greater power, to get involved. That ritual has Arwen seemingly attempting to transfer some form of her own power and being to Frodo, with the lyrics of the chanting here calling on the Valar – the universe’s demi-gods, for the uninitiated, underneath the capital “G” God – to save the hobbit. It’s a strange and fundamentally unknowable moment: could this just be a prayer to the gods, or should we take it that something more transformative has taken place? Actions with Arwen later in the trilogy will make more clear the idea that she has deeper powers than might be immediately obvious. On a character level, this moment showcases Arwen’s selflessness and compassion towards others, as she steps back more firmly into the role of an elven princess.

We will, of course, come back to Arwen, and pretty soon too. We will have more than enough space to discuss the manner in which Jackson altered the character for his adaptation, and the good, and maybe bad, ways that this ended up being executed on-screen. But we are off to a strong start in “Flight To The Ford”, a section of the film that exhibits a really great introduction for this new Arwen, both in terms of her pro-active baring on the narrative, the person that she herself is and in her relationship with Aragorn.

I have come to help you.

Notes

-The music for the scene is “Give Up The Halfling” which aside from another great interjection of the Ringwraith theme gives us a number of other great moments, not least the “Arwen Revealed” theme which is such a wonderful introduction, and the cacophony of horns as Arwen reaches the Bruinen.

-A little nod to the text and to previous adventures, the appearance of “Mr Bilbo’s trolls”, but I like it, it ties in very nicely to the recitation of the story in “A Long-Expected Party”.

-Love those Ringwraith noises in the distance, a little different to the screams that we heard previously: these are more animalistic, like a warped owl, and indicate a more sophisticated form of communication.

-I think this is the only time that athelas is brought up in the film trilogy? No room for “The Houses Of Healing” after all.

-Aragorn and Arwen have their discussion on Frodo in elvish, perhaps to keep the other hobbits from knowing what they are talking about. It’s a little redundant though, as Aragorn will presumably have to explain it all once Arwen has left anyway.

-That feeds into Sam’s well-realised outrage when Arwen takes off with Frodo, and I feel it’s important that this display of anger doesn’t land on Aragorn at all: he only has eyes for a departing Arwen.

-Love how our first glimpse of the chasing Ringwraiths is as fleeting shadows in the trees, before we get some great pull-out shots that show all nine assembled in formation.

-Some great cinematography during this chase, with some excellent cuts, quick zoom-ins and a rapid sense of tension as the Nazgul get close to Frodo. The closing of it, as we cut between different perspectives, to suddenly seeing Arwen’s horse splashing into the ford, is really great at making the impression of a narrow escape from a confusing situation.

-The Witch-King is real nasty as he orders Arwen to “give up the halfling”, dubbing her “she-elf” like he wants her to be conscious of her gender in the moment (also of note is that it is Andy Serkis providing the voice of the Witch-King in this moment: he won’t later). Arwen’s response is all bravado, but none the less very affecting: “If you want him, come and claim him.”

-It’s a great effect, the transformation of the Bruinen into this rampaging torrent, headed by the shapes of horses. The darkness of the Nazgul gets swept away.

-The wording of Arwen’s prayer is interesting: “What grace has given me, let it pass to him”. This may be a reference to a moment in the text that was not adapted, namely when Arwen tells Frodo in “Many Partings”, that her place in one of the last ships to travel into the west is now reserved for him, if he wants it.

Final Thoughts: Even aside from the good work that is done with Arwen, “Flight To The Ford” is a really fun chapter of the story, perhaps the most pulse-racing that the film has gotten so far. A really well-choregraphed chase scene is book-ended by wonderful moments, at the start between Aragorn and Arwen, and at the end as Arwen defies the Witch-King. It’s not quite the midpoint of the film like it was for the book, but it certainly is a major set-piece to mark. Up next, the story will evolve bigtime.

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