Reversal of roles

[Sir Kohran]

Having been involved in some of the SBS threads, I have been thinking about the differences in the movies a lot lately, and in particular, the alteration of Faramir.

In the books, specifically The Fellowship Of The Ring, Boromir comes across as gruff, and frankly rather insolent. He talks roughly and practically, allows his patriotism in Gondor to become xenophobia towards the other races, and we're told his main focus in life is on fighting. He falls prey to the Ring relatively easily and fails his role in the Fellowship, driving Frodo and Sam away. When we meet Faramir, in The Two Towers - he is virtually the opposite. He is wise, thoughtful and intellectual, and speaks 'handsomely' of his country and the world around it. Whilst briefly tempted by the Ring, he firmly resists it and helps Frodo and Sam on their way as best he can. The two brothers are an obvious contrast.

Now, on these forums, I've heard often about how Boromir seemed more noble in the movies than his book role, and how Faramir seemed more ignorant than his book part (in the second movie, at least, where he treats Frodo and Sam rather badly).

So ultimately, I've come to the conclusion that their characters have been reversed - in the movies, we have a wise, noble Boromir and a rough, simple-minded Faramir. Also, this leads me to ask - if, in the books, Faramir had gone with the Fellowship and Boromir had found Frodo and Sam, would we have ended up with a situation like that of the movies? What are your thoughts?