Essex,
Let me again underline that, for the most part, I was deeply caught up in the movies. I can not think of another film that has portrayed a different world with the depth and grace that PJ did. They were, for the most part, visually inspiring. For that, I am grateful.
However, for a variety of reasons that have already been discussed here, I did not feel that the movie caught the magic of the book to the same degree that it might have.
As far as the Grey Havens go, Son of Numenor has said it as well as I could, so I will quote him:
Quote:
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Although I may be a member of the minority on this, I felt the same way about the Grey Havens. When I read the book, I pictured a grey, misty harbour, the voices of Elves lamenting the end of their stay in Middle-earth in a solemn dirge, & the ship setting sail into a misty horizon. What we got (or at least I personally got - I definitely do not mean to try & speak for everyone) in the movie was a bright, shiny harbour, with everyone smiling sadly- bittersweet, to be sure, but a more 'Disney' ending than the melancholy aura of the book. Though there were tears, to be sure, they did not feel as deep or meaningful as they did in the books. Like the movie scenes in Lothlórien, I did not really feel what it meant for the Elves to be departing like I did in the books,
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The two obvious departures from character were Frodo and Faramir, but I also felt uncomfortable with Denethor and in certain scenes with Arwen (especially those in the Fellowship when she puts a sword to Aragorn). In general, there was no hint of the wisdom of Numenor, either in Denethor or Faramir or the other soldiers of Minas Tirith. I would say that PJ did a better job depicting the Men of Rohan, with their heroic stance, but couldn't get a handle on the sad wisdom of the nobility of Gondor. As far as plot deviations go, we have discussed these before. Just to name a few included on the list: Osgiliath, the scenes where Samwise was sent home, Aragorn's death, the Elves marching in at Helm's Deep, the too heavy cloud that hung over FotR with most of the lighter touches missing.
Please don't get the wrong impression. I have a treasured collection of Oscar ads that I have systematically gathered from the first film onward. RotK had me weeping at many points. Obviously, I would not have done that unless I cared for the movie. Even many of the plot deviations are understandable in the light of the other revisions that PJ made. But that doesn't mean I have to like them all! The omissions are less of a problem to me; it is the changes in character that bother me the most. And Faramir and Frodo head that list. Here I simply do not see the same characters that Tolkien wrote about.