[Beanamir of Gondor]

I think David Wenham did a very credible job as Faramir- it was a difficult part to play, considering that he got more screen time than his brother did. And besides, Faramir was a far more complex character than Boromir [which is one of the reasons my name ain't Wenhamir of Gondor]; he had to deal with his father's rejection along with the tempting of the ring. Even Sam said that though Faramir was 'much like his brother in looks,' he was 'a man less self-regarding, bother sterner and wiser.' For Faramir to be compared in this way to his big brother, the future Steward of Gondor, it means a lot. I take the passage to mean that Faramir was deeper than his brother, and could either be a better friend, or a more dangerous enemy.<BR>David Wenham didn't quite achieve this, which is a little disappointing, but he did give a very good portrayal of trying to do as good of a job at everything as his better-loved brother, and failing. As someone on this page said [though I don't recall who and am too lazy to leave this post and look again], it was heartbreaking when David recited the EXACT SAME LINE as from the book, "Do you wish then, that our places had been exchanged?" and Denethor said "Yes, I do." I burst into tears reading it in the book, and when I saw it in the movie went home afterwards and started a Lynch Denethor Campaign. And I disagree that Faramir was whiny in the movie. I took those scenes as his being defeated- he could be as great as his brother, but to do that he had to defy his father and risk banishment, and that was the last thing he wanted. So he sacrificed his self-belief and followed his father's orders, just like his Big Brother Boromir would have done. Which is why I cried when the horse dragged him through the gates of Minas Tirith.<BR>On a second tangent, that scene was definitely a throwback to Boromir. Arrows through the chest, though in different places. What movie does Sean Bean not die or get tortured in, can anyone tell me?