**RotK - Éowyn (Miranda Otto)**
 

What's your opinion on Éowyn's scenes and the actress' portrayal of her?

Eowyn was very, very likeable. Not nearly as cold as she should have been. She looked very good in battle and worked well with Merry. Just a pity that we couldn't see her with Faramir at all.

Another terrific one. At the part of the movie where she exclaims, "I am no man!" and kills the Witchking, the entire theatre erupted into spontaneous cheers. Only a really good portrayal could prompt that kind of uncontainable reaction.

Sorry, she was one of the very few things in this film I didn't like. I wanted Tolkien's fearless shieldmaiden, this Eowyn was quaking in her boots and fighting like a girl.

I loved Eowyn and Merry- the connection between the two (how their fighting abilities were doubted by their friends) brought them together so well for the audience, we could feel for them and their situation. I'm glad that Eowyn got the screen time she deserved (and needed). The killing of the witchking was great. When they introduced it at first while emerging with the army of orcs going to the battle, I had the most intense feeling of hate and dread. Very well done. I think the slaying could have been more powerful if Eowyn had suffered more.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Sorry, she was one of the very few things in this film I didn't like. I wanted Tolkien's fearless shieldmaiden, this Eowyn was quaking in her boots and fighting like a girl.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Now that you mention it, you are right to a certain degree. I don't know, I'm still just so excited at the splendor of it all that I have no room for complaints yet. Yet it does seem like she'd lost her resolve a little. I would expect it from anybody, but not really her!<P>I don't think she got as much air time as she should have, really. And there was only one brief shot of her and Faramir!

I, too, have few complaints because I'm still basking in the glow of seeing it this afternoon.<P>Eowyn is one of my favorite characters in the movie because of how well she & Mortenson worked together. She was a bit frail and girly compared to the book Eowyn, but I found her believable. I loved the way she rode w/Merry between the legs of a mumakil and twirled a sword in both hands to bring down both its rear legs. It was a move worthy of Legolas or Aragorn.<P>I think the dialogue with the Witchking could have used the book's version to good effect. Her grim determination to die after believing all she'd desired was futile was somewhat missing. And, I'm not sure that her arm was broken or stayed broken after the Witchking maced her. Last, it bothered me that suddenly we see Eowyn and Faramir conveniently and suddenly hooked up together. I'm hoping the EE will take care of the missing piece as that is some of the best dialogue in the book.<P>All that being said, Eowyn/Otto is a high point any time she is on screen. She has a presence that commands my attention and the scenes in RotK, while not "perfect," were more than good enough!

When I saw Eowyn's fear, and that of Merry, the first thing that popped into my head was the scene in The Hobbit where Bilbo has to conquor his fear before he can go down that dark passageway to approach Smaug. Of course, we have no idea if the scriptwriters ever read The Hobbit! Still, Tolkien says that all Bilbo's later physical fighting was really nothing when compared with the fear that he overcame in that dark corridor that allowed him to push ahead.<P>That's kind of how I read Eowyn's (and Merry's) reluctance. Most of the others were seasoned soldiers but neither she nor Merry had ever been in a battle before. So I saw it as reasonable that there would be a moment of quavering. That was not important. What was important was that they kept going forward.<P> And yes, Eowyn of the movie was warmer and less despairing than the Eowyn of the book.<p>[ 12:20 AM December 18, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

There wasn't any resolution to her part of the story, though I expect that to be fixed. I would have prefered her original dialogue with the Witch King.

She and Faramir look good together. <P>I can't wait for the EE when I get to see more of her post-battle. Her fighting was cool. And there were a few people going "yes!" when she tore off her helmet.<P>I must have missed the fearfulness you mention, but I would point to Sharon's reasoning as good justification for it. It's not bravery unless you're scared.<P>I like the way they show her and Merry together at Dunharrow. "My lady!"

But...Eowyn wasn't Bilbo, a timid hobbit of the Shire. She was in Tolkien's words a "maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings, slender but<BR>as a steel-blade, fair but terrible."<BR>Instead, Otto's Eowyn was behaving as you or I would if we were sent onto a battlefield. During her fight, she was standing awkwardly and hardly seemed to be able to lift her sword. That's not what I expected to see. Not to mention the absence of any of Tolkien's fantastic dialogue in the scene.<BR>I was incredibly moved during the charge of the Rohirrim, it was so brilliantly done, but this confrontation, which I was expecting to be the climax, just felt like a let-down.<BR>I have always defended Tolkien against the accusation that his women characters were no good. Now I feel even more justified. It's PJ who has messed up all of the LotR women. Tolkien's Eowyn was a far more impressive feminist figure than PJ's.

Ducking that mace was no cowardice, it was wisdom; discretion is the better part of valor, or at least a doggone important part. If she hadn't ducked the mace, she wouldn't have lasted long enough to use her blade when she did.<P>I didn't have any problem with Miranda Otto showing some fear. A soldier that doesn't know when to duck is a dead one. But she stood her ground and didn't budge; any fear was conquered on the spot and never yeilded to; and that is true courage. <P>I'll have to read that section again to be sure, but as of now, I'd hardly call it a significant departure from the book.

I liked Miranda Otto's portrayal. Her fight with the Witch king was definitely one of the highlights of the movie for me, even though the dialog was sometimes clunky. My husband says it's one of the two scenes in the film where he was really moved. I'm glad Eowyn finally got her chance to shine.<P>I have mixed feelings about her farewell to Theoden. While I'm happy for the *characters* because they had some closure, I think I would have preferred Eowyn's "death" and Eomer's rage.<P>I did miss the houses of healing. <P>-Lily

Miranda Otto was an excellent Éowyn for this movie, and I appreciate her much more than I did after seeing <I>The Two Towers</I>. True, she is not as depicted in the book, but whether this constitutes a 'Crime Against Tolkienity' is up for the kangaroo courts to decide. Personally, this movie showed me a lot of changes from the book that I could actually live with. <P>Although I still maintain that Cate Blanchett or Uma Thurman could have been my perfect Éowyn, Miranda Otto and the writers were trying to achieve something different in the movie. I don't think the character loses anything by becoming more human. Far from it. Being fearless is not the same as being brave. movieÉowyn suddenly found herself in a battle and out of her depth. However she conquered her fear, which is what true bravery is. I only wished they hadn't showed her cheesy battle-cry before the charge. Very poorly done. It would have been better if we had just seen her steel herself for the charge.<P>On the whole I think Peter Jackson did the confrontation with the Witch-King well with limited screen time. Like everyone else that has read the books, I would love to spend a lot more time on that scene. But if it has to come down to choices, I think it was probably well edited. Enough of it was there, true to the book. The hurry to the Black Gate and Mount Doom was a far bigger problem.<P>I wish Éowyn had chopped the beast's head off with one clean stroke. And I didn't really see the change in lighting when it was destroyed, although maybe I'll pick that up second time round.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Feast on his flesh! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Ranks right up there with: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Give up the halfling, she-elf! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Quite apart from the thousands of people he has killed, the Witch-King deserves to implode into nothingness just for those <B>awful</B> lines!! But that's a bit off-topic.

I have no problem with her ducking the mace, that was fine. It was her general lack of steeliness and skill with arms that I didn't like. <BR>Read the passage in the book again - it could have been a great cinematic moment, there's an incredible stillness and tension in the prose which just wasn't there on the screen. Given the amount of time given to Shelob in this film, and things like the cave-troll fight in FotR, I don't see why this, one of the highpoints in the whole book, had to be rushed.

Let's look at it this way. Could you stand up to the Lord of the Nazgul, and keep some element of composure? I think it was amazing that she managed to stay that composed. Any other person woul have been high-tailing it out of there, but when she saw the Witch-king falter, after Merry stabbed the back of his leg, her courage came back, and she kicked the Witch-king's arse! The entire theater was cheering her on throughout all of her fighting scenes. It was just so amazing!

I though Miranda did a servicable job as Eowyn. The role could have been played better, but I think she did just fine. I would have liked to see more of the real dialogue from the scene at Pellenor Fields, but maybe that will be in the EE. Hopefully.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Let's look at it this way. Could you stand up to the Lord of the Nazgul, and keep some element of composure <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Of course not! That's *precisely* my point! Tolkien's Eowyn was extraordinary. The movie Eowyn was too ordinary, too "accessible", too girl-next-door. A perfectly nice, sympathetic character, but not the fascinating figure that Tolkien created.<p>[ 9:14 AM December 20, 2003: Message edited by: Lalaith ]

I must say I'm a bit ambivolent about Miranda Otto's Eowyn. She's a very good actress and I can see what she's trying to do- emphasizing Eowyn's vulnerability rather than her..strength(not sure thats the right word to use). She is nothing like what I imagine Eowyn to be, yet I do appreciate her casting a fresh light on the character. I can see what Lalaith means- and I do think her despair doesn't come through strongly enough. Miranda's Eowyn was fighting to help those she loves- Tolkiens Eowyn wanted to die, and to die with honour. I guess it's just her interpretation of Eowyn and her motives. I sill can't decide whether I like it or not. I admire it certainly but....<BR>I still can't make up my mind. Oh, well.

Personally, Miranda did a great job playing Eowyn.<BR>If you had been denied the option of fighting your whole life, and there you were, finally about to fight. Wouldn't you be a little scared all of a sudden? Dreams are almost always more pleasant than the actual thing. She probably imagined some great place with many Orcs, and many men, and they slayed them so easy. But when the time came, she probably felt a little doubtful, and a little scared. But once it got started, she was less hesitant, I think, and just went for it. <P>And if someone was swinging a mace at you, I think you'd duck instead of getting hit by it and risking death Besides, you never know what can happen if you do duck. If she hadn't, the Witch King probably would've killed her, and who knows how the battle would've ended.

she was good, but not Tolkien's Eowyn. i agree with everything that has been sdaid about her been weaker. i really wanted to see her resolve to die. i was also disappointed that we KNEW Dernhelm was Eowyn as it owuld've been much more dramatic if we hadn't.<P>i didn't like the killing of the Witch King. it is one of the best written parts of the book and it has all been omitted apart from "do not come between the Nazgul and his prey." i really wanted to hear the Witch King's creepy assertation that her shrivelled mind would be revealed naked to the lidless eye.<P>however, she was likeable and i would trust her to save me

When I saw Eowyn lift Merry up onto her horse and his line of 'My lady,' I immediatly thought back to the book about how he and all others were decieved. Immeadiately after that, though, I thought, 'Could Peter Jackson really make it believable that Merry couldn't tell that this warrior was Eowyn in such short time? Nope.' I was very satisfied with it.<P>I'm not entirely sure if I'm happy with the death of the Witch King. I would've much more enjoyed seeing both her and Merry nearly die from the shock of their blows and then gone to the Houses of Healing, which enhanced Eowyn and Faramir's roles, of course, but also Aragorn's. We all would've loved it, but there was no time.<P>Lastly, I'm glad they didn't push things with Faramir. They gave us *only* that last shot, of which I think no one but readers of the book knew the meaning. If PJ had tried to put them together in such short time, it would've been a disaster. I think her character, though much different from that in the book, was wonderful. I certainly enjoyed it.

As much as I <I>liked</I> Otto's portrayal, I couldn't feel the same emotions for her that I had felt for the real Eowyn. Otto was less than heroic, Eowyn was more than heroic. You're not supposed to like Eowyn, you are supposed to be in awe of her. The biggest problem was that Otto showed fear. Any fear at all detracted from the part. Eowyn was going to battle that she might die. Where was her steely resolve? I wanted to see her fight the Witch King for her own glory and honor, despising the likelihood of death for valour. Again, her and Merry were a great team, and very heart-warming, to be sure, but that was all wrong. She needed to be cold, distant, <I>fey</I>. I wanted to see her doom written in her eyes. <P>Did anyone else think that her helmet made her look unusually silly, as if her face was made of putty and her nose was mushed? And the lines! Where were Tolkien's glorious, lines, taut with all those emotions and despair that he'd built up from her first appearance?! <P>On the other hand, the Nazgul King was done well, and I loved it when she hacked off the beast's head. I've never heard an audience so enthusiastically applaud a scene.

My only disappointment with Eowyn was the part where she stabs the Witchking. She doesn't seem nearly wounded enough. It seemed more like, "oh, I'm supposed to fall to my knees now."<BR>That's my only big upset with Eowyn. Of course, that's the director's choice, so I can't blame Miranda for that.<P>I just love the way it plays out in the book... where she is seriously wounded and lay unconscious near Theoden when Eomer finds them both... and Theoden asks Eomer to say farewell to Eowyn for him, not realizing that she lay dying nearby. I was wishing to see that.<BR>Oh well. <P>Here's to hoping to see the Houses of Healing in the EE.

I did not think she looked hurt enough! However, I love Mirra! and i do love her Éowyn, and i love her moments with her brother. But i was dissappointed that there was no big deal about her slaying the witch king! Lets face it, no <I>man</I> could kill him, yes that right, it took a woman! and yet it was far over-shaddowed by Leggy's Múmakil stunt.<P>And i did <I>so</I> want to see Faramir and Éowyn <I>badly</I> so now we are clingling to the hope that it will be in the EE

I loved her! I agree, the scene where she was dual wielding the swords, slashing at the mumakil's legs was awesome. MUCH more believable than that pasty elf and his pet elephant.<P>I liked her better in the movies, myself. She actually had EMOTION. I missed that in the books. I like Eowyn because she's human. She makes mistakes, she has fears and doubts. She overcomes those, and gains glory unmatched. And makes a cool friend in Merry. :P<P>And when she wept for Theoden... I was a bloody river. It was bittersweet, almost, though, in a way, it felt good to hear her openly weep.

Oh, and I forgot to mention how beautiful she is. The White Lady of Ithilien, The Lady of The Shield Arm... *sighs dreamily*

Having seen the film for the second time I have decided I <I>don't</I> much like Miranda's Eowyn, or not her battle Eowyn. I think that after her rejection from Aragorn we should have seen more of a change in her. She should have been more hardened, more despairing. In the battle I could've done with more steely determination instead of that rather unconvincing war- cry. I thought the fear on her face at the begining of the battle, when Theoden was doing his pep talk, worked but after that she should have collected herself and become the proud seemingly fearless Eowyn fron the books. I don't think Miranda should have showed no fear, but there should have been less of it and more subtly expressed. And, I know this sounds strange, but don't you think al the time she was battling the Nazgul her knees were too close together? Perhaps that's just me. Don't get me wrong, I thought Miranda did a great job.. up to the battle where I felt Miranda's lonely love- lorn Eowyn didn't quite translate into the book Eowyn... that probably doesn't make sense. Oh well.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I would have prefered her original dialogue with the Witch King. (Burrahobbit) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I agree, though the movie dialogue wasn't too terrible.<P>Otto's delivery of the "I am no man!" line erased any misgivings I had about Miranda Otto's casting as Eowyn. I hope that her story (as well as Faramir's) is dealt with far more thoroughly in the Extended Edition.<p>[ 2:43 PM December 30, 2003: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]

I loved Eowyn a lot more in RotK, and her great friendship with Merry, but there was one thing that sort of irked me. When she was defending Merry's right to 'fight for those he loves', she did it so metaphorically so she was really talking about herself wanting to fight. Other than that, I liked her role in this film.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>MUCH more believable than that pasty elf and his pet elephant. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Now why would he want to kill his pet elephant?! And he isn't pasty...<P>I was never able to understand Éowyn in the book. Her despair etc. was too strong for me- I found it off-putting. Miranda's portrayal has given me access to this wonderful character (now how cheesy does that sound?!), so I think she did a great job. Although now I understand the character, it would have been nice to have her in utter despair. But then I would never probably have understood the character at all...<P>And as for fearlessness v bravery...does bravery not imply fighting against fear? As opposed to fearlessness where the person has gone so far as to not feel any at all? If so, then how can bravery be an acceptable replacement for fearlessness. I do not think they are synonymous...but then they might be, what do you think?