[Overtaxed]

He come REAL close to touching it when Aragorn tells him to give the Ring back to Frodo. Does that show a bit of Boromir's attempts to resist the temptation of the Ring, or does it show more of Aragorn's growing aura of authority?

I think it's Boromir fighting the Ring. Maybe Aragorn's getting more into the authority thing, but Boromir "snaps out of it" the same way you would if someone shouted to get your attention.

For what it's worth, I like the way PJ did Boromir's character at this part of the story. Showing his struggle of course makes Boromir a more sympathetic character but also foreshadows what could happen to the rest of the company.

[Penny1]

ksen: He come REAL close to touching it when Aragorn tells him to give the Ring back to Frodo. Does that show a bit of Boromir's attempts to resist the temptation of the Ring, or does it show more of Aragorn's growing aura of authority?

OT: I think it's Boromir fighting the Ring. Maybe Aragorn's getting more into the authority thing, but Boromir "snaps out of it" the same way you would if someone shouted to get your attention.

I think it's both--Aragorn essentially snaps him out of it by speaking sharply to him, but Boromir himself is resisting it long enough for Aragorn to verbally shake him out of his temptation. I think PJ did an excellent job of showing the conflict between the lust for the ring itself and the relationships among the characters. This happens early on, when Gandalf himself is tempted by the ring at Bag End. As he is tempted by what he could do with it, the camera narrows its focus to the ring, with Frodo becoming fuzzy and indistinct behind it. It is only when Gandalf focuses back on Frodo that he fully rejects that temptation. The same thing happens at the end of the movie with Aragorn--when the temptation of the ring is fully rejected, his focus is on his friend, rather than the ring.

It is the same for Boromir here, IMO. He almost touches it, his gaze is completely narrowed to it, to the point that he is oblivious to anyone else even being present. The first time Aragorn speaks to him, it does not register at all. But when he speaks sharply, Boromir's focus on the ring is broken and he sees his companions again, rather than the ring. Its hold on him is broken, at least for the moment.

I think the point PJ might be trying to get across is that it is the relationships the characters have with one another that is the only thing that can keep any of them from falling to the temptation of the ring. I liked how he brought that idea out in the story, and I particularly liked that scene with Boromir on the mountain. It's one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie.

The importance of relationships may be why Boromir fell later on--he didn't really form any close relationships with any of the Fellowship in the book, and his attachments in the movie specifically excluded Frodo.