Hobbitary Commentary (Con't)

* For the first two points of my Hobbitary Commentary, please see previous Hobbitary Commentary post. * 

3. Thorin

Another LMT Award goes to Richard Armitage for his performance as Thorin Oakenshield!
        I have many thoughts about our friend Thorin.

First and foremost, I love the guy in the movie, but I hate him in the book.

This rarely happens to me.

In the book, I was like, "Okay, Thorin Oakenshield.  Moving on..."  He drives me crazy in the book.

But, after seeing the movie, I really want him to succeed.  That's a first.  He's got another 7-8 hours of screen time before the end, but I already miss him.  However, it is my assumption that he will "die" at the end of each and every Hobbit movie (he's already gotten started).

Here are the reasons I like Thorin better in the movie:

1. There's more depth to his character.

In the book, he's just the somewhat terse leader of the company.  I get the impression he justifies being the way he is because he is, after all, the rightful King Under the Mountain.  And, when things go wrong, he immediately points a finger at Bilbo.  "Where's the burglar when we need him???"

In the movie, he's actually got a backstory.  He's got...emotions (wow!).  He's a real guy.  Short, yes, but real.  We, as the audience, get to see the 8-10 minute intro detailing the dragon attack that forced Thorin and his people to flee Erebor (if that didn't emotionally scar him, then he's not realistic).  We see the Elves refuse to lend aid to the fleeing Dwarves, so we (sorta kinda) understand Thorin's long-held grudge (more on this later).  We get a fully narrated visual of the Moria battle (not in the book, by the way) during which his grandfather, Thror, is murdered (more on this later as well).

This is why I think Richard Armitage should get an award for this performance: We, the audience, can see — at all times throughout the whole film — the pain of homelessness and betrayal on the young dwarves prince's face.  Mr. Armitage portrays a Thorin who is constantly haunted by the memories of the Smaug attack and the battle at Moria.  You can see it gnawing at his mind through ever inch of his performance.  When he's in Bilbo's home detailing the plans, the pain is still there.  When they're fighting off goblins, orcs, trolls, and whatever else they fight off, the pain is still there.  Even when they're running across the rocky field to get away from the orcs, the pain is still there.  In every close up, I could see a guy who grew up way to fast, who has seen way more cruelty in life than he should have.  Cruelty at being driven from Erebor by Smaug and being betrayed by the Elves.

I am also willing to submit that I think his mother died in the Smaug attack.  There is no evidence for this in the book or the movie, but we never hear about her, so I have to assume the worst...

2. He doesn't seem as stuck up.

My main reason for saying this is an incident that occurs while everyone is gathered in Bilbo's now very crowded Hobbit Hole.  During a conversation about the best way to approach Erebor, and how to enter it (since the front doors have been sealed off by Smaug), Gandalf reveals a key, which he then gives to Thorin.  

Thorin, completely shocked and a little awed by this revalation, asks, "How came you by this?"

To which Gandalf explains (paraphrasing) "your grandfather, Thror, gave it to Thrain, who then gave it to me, and I'm now giving it to you."

In the book, Thorin (regarding both the key and a map of The Lonely Mountain he's never seen before) has the senior citizen equivalent of a temper tantrum.  "[...] Apparently, they [his father and grandfather] made a map, and I should like to know how Gandalf got hold of it, and why it did not come down to me, the rightful heir?" (The Hobbit, 29)  If he'd started yelling, "They're mine, I tell you!  Give them to me!  They're my own!  My preciouses!" I would not have been at all surprised.

In the movie, Thorin just stares in shock and awe and takes the key from Gandalf, while everyone else watches in equal amounts of awe, and backed by some very dramatic Howard Shore music.

Later, Thorin and Balin are talking, and Balin says something along the lines of, "You don't have to do this."  To which Thorin responds, "From my grandfather to my father, this [key] has come to me[….]  There is no choice.  Not for me."  He says nothing about the fact that the key was withheld from him for who knows how long.  The only indication he gives at being irritated by this is when he and Gandalf are arguing about seeking refuge and help from Elrond, and Gandalf says, "I didn't give you that map and key so that you could hold onto the past", and Thorin snaps back, "I didn't know they were yours to keep."

3. He's WAY younger in the movie.

Let's just admit it.  It's hard to identify with an older, wrinklier, whiter haired Thorin.  Making Thorin look (at least) a little younger, especially at the time of the Smaug attack, really helps the audience (who are primarily younger LOTR fans and their children) identify with him more.

Okay, so reason #3 may be a little ridiculous, but that's seriously a factor for me.